“The support that I’ve had has made it a lot easier to transition going into a profession with little knowledge to where I am today winning an award.”
Lewis White was named Apprentice of the Year at the 12th annual ECI Training and Development Awards, which celebrated excellence in training and development.
The 20-year-old from Rochdale, who works for project consultancy Herne Group in Wigan, was honoured at a prestigious ceremony at One Marylebone in London organised by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB).
Lewis came out on top after being shortlisted in the final three for the award, which recognises outstanding individuals who have either embarked on or successfully completed a recognised apprenticeship pathway within the past 12 months.
The judging panel, made up of Mark Fotheringham from Infinity Engineering, Tracey Shelley from BCECA and John Webster from Applus UK, recognised the Level 3 Apprentice Project Controls Technician as a “great ambassador” for both Herne Group and the wider industry.
The submission for the awards highlighted Lewis’ dedication, proactive attitude and one-team mindset and how he has been praised by external stakeholders for his outstanding contributions to major project reporting processes.
The judges recognised Lewis for utilising new skills developed alongside his apprenticeship to turn a work placement into a billable role, creating a significant reporting dashboard for a major nuclear decommissioning project.
“It’s my first award ceremony and I’m very proud to have won and very grateful for the opportunity.
“I joined Herne with zero knowledge of the project area, but I thought I had the skills to be a project controller which is what pushed me to go for that. The support that I’ve had has made it a lot easier to transition going into a profession with little knowledge to where I am today winning an award.
“I didn’t think I’d be working with clients like I have this early in my career, but I’m really proud to have done so and it’s been really interesting.
“I get a lot of training through my college course and a lot of external training on different software, such as PowerBi, to increase my capability and knowledge in different areas.”
Lewis White
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