News & Updates, Talent, Skills & Training
PMG celebrates its Apprentices of the Year 2022
At the start of National Apprenticeships Week 2022, Plymouth Manufacturers’ Group joined together online with Building Plymouth to host their annual Apprentice of the Year Awards.
The manufacturing sector had a record 26 finalists with 5 overall winners with judging being an unenviable and difficult task as numerous impressive accomplishments were described throughout the nominations. The PMG was therefore delighted by the members’ enthusiasm for the awards and proud to celebrate the apprentices’ achievements at the awards event.
The first of the PMG Apprentice Awards was that of the Manufacturing Rising Star Apprentice for 2022 – this was awarded to Daniel Rowe of Groeneveld UK who is undertaking a Level 3 Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Apprenticeship with Cornwall College. Daniel said on winning his award, “It meant so much to me that my company had put me through to the apprentice awards but then to find out that I had won… WOW! Reading what my company had to say about me gave me a real confidence boost and I would have been glad just knowing what the company thinks about me so that was its own little award within itself.”
Leanne Chubb, HR Officer at Groeneveld UK enthused about Daniel’s work ethic and said, “Dan is enthusiastic and always willing to learn new skills, he has a positive attitude towards work and ready to take up any new challenges that are put to him. Dan is highly professional, makes suggestions for improvement, but never forgets the importance of fun! One could say Dan is “doing his job” but what makes a difference “is the way he does it”; the compassion he shows for others and his commitment and attitude, he is Groeneveld’s ‘rising star’ for the future. We are delighted that Dan has achieved this award it is well deserved and we look forward to watching Dan progress further within the business.”
Recognising the importance of business roles in the manufacturing and engineering industry, the next award announced was for the PMG Business Rising Star Apprentice for 2022.
This went to Liam Spence of Babcock International who, as a Commercial Apprentice with City College Plymouth, is undertaking an Operational / Departmental Manager pathway.
Liam said, “Winning this Rising Star award makes me feel very proud to work for an organisation like Babcock. Just being shortlisted as a finalist is an achievement, but to win is fantastic. I am very excited to see what the future holds with Babcock, both within my apprenticeship scheme and beyond, as I continue to learn and build my career.”
The next PMG Award celebrates those who are close to finishing their apprenticeship or have recently completed it.
This year, the standard was so high in the category of PMG Manufacturing Final Year Apprentice, that the judges could not choose between two apprentices and therefore joint winners were declared. They were Lauren Gage of BD, who is following a Level 3 Mechatronics apprenticeship pathway with Cornwall College and James Wood of MB Aerospace, who is undertaking a Level 4 Apprenticeship as an Engineering Manufacturing Technician at Exeter College.
Lauren said of her win, “Firstly I am over the moon to have won this award. I could not have got this far without my fellow colleagues coaching and mentoring me throughout the 4 years of my Apprenticeship. It’s a rewarding feeling knowing that my hard work and dedication has been recognised. It gives me the confidence to go forward and become a truly valued part of the business. Apprenticeships in the modern world are vital for bringing people like me into important engineering roles. Rewards like this encourage me to push further and in turn become the best I can be. I am very grateful for the opportunities I have been given.”
At MB Aerospace, the team were more than delighted with James’s achievements. Jamie Riggs is the Principal Manufacturing Engineer at the company and said: “Congratulations to James, and all the other nominees and finalists. James thoroughly deserves this award, it’s been a pleasure having him in this team for his last year of his apprenticeship and seeing him develop his skills and mature beyond his years.
We welcome James into his new role within the engineer team and now look towards our next generation of up and coming apprentices earlier in their development and the apprentice intake for 2022. Our apprentices are an integral part of the MB Aerospace future talent strategy.”
For James, the win came as a happy surprise and he said, “I am very proud to have completed my apprenticeship with MB aerospace and have been given such excellent guidance, training and experience throughout. Thank you for this special award, I am thrilled to receive it. More importantly thank you to everyone at MB Aerospace who have helped me achieve it, I’m excited for the future.”
Last but by no means least, the award for Best PMG Business Final Year Apprentice was announced and this went to Sophie Whitefield at Princess Yachts who is completing a Level 3 Apprenticeship in Business Administration with South Devon College and City & Guilds this year.
Sophie said: “I am extremely proud to have received this award from PMG. I would like to thank not only my colleagues, managers, and everyone at Princess but also my tutors at South Devon College for helping me on my way to earning my Level 3 Business Administration qualification. Working at Princess is a privilege and I am very lucky to be able to undertake my apprenticeship with them after my career took a different turn at the start of COVID. To be able to play a hand in the development and manufacture of our exceptional range of yacht models on a daily basis is an honour and I hope to be part of this growing business for many years to come.”
Sophie’s Manager, Nick Smith, Head of Product Planning at Princess Yachts, added, “Sophie always goes the extra (nautical) mile. The award recognises her efforts to date and I look forward to supporting her further in her developing career.”
Chair of the Plymouth Manufacturers’ Group Karen Friendship said: “It has been a pleasure to present Plymouth’s Construction and Manufacturing Apprentice of the Year Awards which has given us a great platform to shine a light on the amazing opportunities that an apprenticeship brings to employers, individuals and the economy. I would like to thank our local employers and training providers who have gone above and beyond to ensure apprentices have been able to continue their studies and on the job learning during this unprecedented time. I would also like to pay tribute to all our apprentices for their dedication and efforts in working so hard to continue advancing with their apprenticeship despite the impact of the pandemic.”
The finalists and winners of the PMG Apprentice of the Year Awards are:
Winner – PMG Manufacturing Rising Star Apprentice of the Year 2022
• Daniel Rowe, Groeneveld UK with Cornwall College, L3 Advanced Manufacturing Engineering
Finalists:
• Abbie Tucker, BD with Cornwall College, L3 Engineering Technician, Mechatronics
• Amelia Bulley, Babcock International with City College Plymouth, L3 Engineering Technician
• Andrei Hritcu, Olympus Algram with City College Plymouth,L3 Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering
• Bethan Haigh, MB Aerospace with Exeter College, L3 Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering
• Charlie Hill, Princess Yachts with South Devon College, L3 Marine Engineering
• Corey Stapleton, Oakmount Control Systems with City College Plymouth, L3 Machining
• Joe Coutts, Babcock International with City College Plymouth, L3 Maritime Defence Engineering
• Kieran Foster, Oakmount Control Systems with Cornwall College, L3 Engineering and Manufacture – Mechanical
• Kyle Whitford-Robson, Alderman Tooling with City College Plymouth, L3 Engineering Manufacturing Fabrication & Welding
• Lee Cooper, Olympus Algram with City College Plymouth, L3 Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering – Machinist
• Ritchie Reynolds, Babcock International with Trans Plant Mastertrain, L2 Lifting Technician
• Thomas Fyfe, Princess Yachts with South Devon College, L3 Composites Technician
Winner – PMG Business Rising Star Apprentice of the Year 2022
• Liam Spence, Babcock International with City College Plymouth, L5 Commercial Apprentice
Finalists:
• Chloe Mackie, Meddings Group with City College Plymouth, L2 Accounting
• Lucy Wood, Princess Yachts with South Devon College, L3 Business Administration
Joint Winners – PMG Manufacturing Final Year Apprentice of the Year 2022
• Lauren Gage, BD with Cornwall College, L3 Mechatronics
• James Wood, MB Aerospace with Exeter College, L4 Engineering Manufacturing Technician
Finalists:
• Abbie West, BD with Cornwall College, L3 Engineering Technician
• Charlie Commander, Babcock International with Trans Plant Mastertrain, L2 Lifting Technician
• Josh Ford, Babcock International with City College Plymouth, L3 Engineering Technician
• Rhys Heslop, Olympus Algram with City College Plymouth, L3 Engineering Technician
• Sam Weaver, Babcock International with City College Plymouth, L3 Engineering Technician
Winner – PMG Business Final Year Apprentice of the Year 2022
• Sophie Whitefield, Princess Yachts with South Devon College / City & Guilds, L3 Business Administration
Finalists:
• Laura Stephens, Babcock International with ATN Consultancy Training , L4 Procurement and Supply
• Shauna McAteer, Babcock International with City College Plymouth , L2 Customer Service Practitioner
Local Construction and Manufacturing Apprentices Achievements Celebrated
