February 2010
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Lewis Rush - UK NuclearApprentice of the Year.More award winners and
finalists inside.
"The achievements of thenuclear sector’s brightestpeople have been recognisedthrough these awards, andwill go far in guaranteeing wehave the highly skilledworkforce we need for thefuture.”
Skills Minister KevinBrennan
Supported by
The candle light flickered once again in the Grand Room at thePalace Hotel Manchester, where over 300 nuclear employers,training providers and key stakeholders came together to celebratethe success and high achievement of just some of the nuclear starsof the future.
The evening began in the Tempest bar with a drinks reception,sponsored by Westinghouse/Springfields, where David Bonser, chairof the National Skills Academy for Nuclear welcomed everyone tothe event highlighting the effectiveness of the partnership betweenthe Skills Academy and Cogent Sector Skills Council.
During the drinks reception, attendees were also able to have somepre-dinner nibbles at the Oyster bar which was provided by NIS Ltd.
It was then onto the Grand Room for the main event, which wasofficially opened by Joanna Woolf, Chief Executive of Cogent SSC,who introduced a short welcome speech from Dr Lis Smith, fromthe NWDA, the main sponsors of the dinner. ELLEctrified providedthe prep-dinner entertainment, thanks to sponsorship fromURENCO, providing an upbeat musical introduction to the mainproceedings.
The After Dinner speaker for the evening was Penny Mallory, racingcar driver and TV presenter, who provided a light-hearted, buthighly motivational speech on finding your passion in life andfollowing your dreams.
It was then onto the awards....
UK NUCLEAR SKILLS AWARDS...
David Bonser - Opening Address
Penny Mallory- After Dinner Speaker
FOUNDATION DEGREE STUDENTOF THE YEAR Sponsored by Foundation Degree Forward
Winner - Victoria MartinEmployer - Sellafield LtdProvider - Lakes College
Victoria Martin, currently works for Sellafield Ltdas a Safety Advisor. Originally joining theorganisation as an Administrative Officer,Victoria’s proactive approach to her own personaldevelopment has ensured her career developmentthrough Health Physics Monitor and TechnicalSupport Officer to her present role.
Victoria was one of the first cohort to enrol ontothe new Foundation Degree in NuclearDecommissioning and not having an engineeringor scientific background did not hold Victoria backin her studies, achieving the highest mark in herclass. Victoria completed her course part-time,which enabled her to continue working full-timeto support her young family.
Victoria’s employer describes her as anenthusiastic member of the team, who hasalready made a considerable impact on safetywithin Magnox Reprocessing since she joined theSafety team a little over a year ago.
Winner - Michael MacaulayEmployer - DSRLProvider - North Highland College
The Scottish HND Student of the Year award, waspresented to Michael Macaulay who works forDSRL as a Mechanical Technician.
Following on from his year of Foundation Training,Michael decided at an early stage that he wantedto achieve more than his HNC and attended extraevening classes to achieve additional unitstowards his HND.
This hard work and dedication came to fruition inSept 2009, when he achieved his HND inMechanical Engineering. Michael is described byhis employers as an excellent worker with a highlevel of self motivation.
Victoria Martin pictured accepting her award from Charles Pickford - Foundation DegreeForward
SCOTTISH HND STUDENT OFTHE YEARSponsored by Babcock Marine at Clyde
Michael Macaulay pictured accepting his award from Craig Lockhart from Babcock Marineat Clyde
BURSARY STUDENT OF THEYEAR Sponsored by NDA
Winner - Suzette MiddletonOrganisation - Lakes College
Suzette took a career break from industry to allowher to progress her studies. This has not been aneasy option, especially when raising a family, butSuzette has found that the costs of studying fulltime have eased due to the bursary.
A highly ambitious individual, Suzette hasovercome a range of difficulties which she hasencountered as a mature student. Her drive andcommitment to succeed saw her through thesetimes, and Suzette now admits that she hasgained confidence and self belief through herstudies. Suzette is an inspiration for all, and hasalready had a positive effect on her son, who hasbecome the youngest person in her family toachieve a GCSE in statistics – at only 14.
“I could not have foreseen the positive effectsthat have resulted from my studies. I amproud of everything I have achieved andwould encourage others to follow their dreamstoo.”
Winner- Ian WilliamsEmployer - British Energy -part of EDF Energy
Ian Williams, went above and beyond the awardcriteria. Under Ian’s stewardship, in just over 2years, the residential apprenticeship programmehas increased from a few apprentices to over 106,and it’s projected to grow by over 50% this year.This success is down to Ian’s enthusiasm and hishard work to link myriad aspects of theprogramme - from managing training providersright through to handling the PR.
Ian provides 24/7 support for the apprentices,their parents and the BE Stations. He runs a wideranging scheme which includes elements of NVQs,Foundation Degrees, and even the Duke ofEdinburgh’s Award. Indeed everything is takes tobecome a nuclear professional.
Suzette Middleton accepting her award from Nigel Couzens- NDA
COGENT AWARD FOROUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP INSKILLS AWARDSponsored by Nuclear Management Partners
Ian Williams pictured accepting his award from Graham Campbell - Nuclear ManagementPartners
NUCLEAR APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR -WALES Sponsored by Magnox North
Winner - Marc Owen JonesEmployer - Magnox North
Marc currently works as a Production Technician at Wylfa.During his apprenticeship, Marc was the lead instrumentapprentice during the commissioning of the Flow LoopSimulator. His employer describes him as an excellent teammember, a joy to work with and a person who will go far in hischosen trade.
Winner - Nathan MackayEmployer - Rolls Royce
Nathan currently works as an Instrument Technician and hasset a new record for Rolls Royce by completing his four yearApprenticeship in 3 years and 1 month thanks to the newflexible framework. Highlighting his dedication to the nuclearindustry Nathan is also an active STEM Ambassador. Hisemployer describes him as an example of the best in theindustry.
Winner - Lewis RushEmployer - British Energy-part of EDF EnergyProvider - Bridgwater College
Lewis is a highly valued and well respected member of theinstrumentation team at Hinkley Point B performing a widevariety of tasks from planned maintenance to defectreduction. Achieving instrument technician status 4 monthsearly, Lewis has helped to raise the standards within his team.
NUCLEAR APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR -SCOTLANDSponsored by URS
NUCLEAR APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR -SOUTHWESTSponsored by Hinkley Point B, British Energy Part of EDF Energy
Marc Owen Jones pictured accepting his award from John IdrisJones - Magnox North
Nathan Mackay pictured accepting his award from Jim Hall - URS
Lewis Rush pictured accepting his award from Charlie Bray - onbehalf of Hinkley Point B - British Energy part of EDF Energy
Winner - Justin WoodleyEmployer - AWE
Justin is currently in the final year as an electronicsapprentice with AWE.
His employer describes Justin as an enthusiastic andconscientious member of staff, who puts the maximumeffort into everything he undertakes. A person whoseattitude has proven a great motivation for other teammembers and has had a very positive effect on his peers.
Winner - Anna MawsonEmployer - Sellafield LtdProvider - GEN II
Anna currently works as an Electrical and InstrumentationCraftsperson at Sellafield. Anna’s development within theCraft Team has also seen her take on the SafetyRepresentative Role, along with taking on the responsibilityof being a mentor to the remaining apprentices within herteam. Anna’s employers say that since joining the team,Anna has gained the respect of her peers both within thecraft and support teams and has become a highly valuedmember of the team in a very short period of time.
NUCLEAR APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR -SOUTHEAST/EAST
NUCLEAR APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR -NORTHWEST/NORTHEAST
Sponsored by Areva
Sponsored by Nuclear Institute NW, NE & Cumbrian Branches
REGIONAL APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Unfortunatley there can onlybe one winner for eachregion. Pictured opposite arethe Regional Finalistsaccepting their certificatesfrom Jean Llewellyn, ChiefExecutive of the NationalSkills Academy for Nuclear.
top l-r - Karl Edwards(NW/NE), Stephen Bool(NW/NE), Daniel Garnett(SE/E)
Bottom l-r Patrick Melanophy(SE/E), Jarrad Scaplehorn(SW), Jean Llewellyn, ChiefExecutive of the SkillsAcademy, Malcolm Morrison(Scot),and Greg Shearer(Scot).
Justin Woodley pictured accepting his award from Robert Davies -Areva
Anna Mawson pictured accepting her award from Neil Crewdson -Nuclear Institute NW, NE and Cumbrian Branches
UK NUCLEAR APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR - LEWIS RUSH
All of the Regional Apprentice of the year winners were putforward for the coveted title of UK Nuclear Apprentice ofthe Year. The National Panel had a very hard choice thisyear as all of the winners were exceptional. It was decidedthat one person had just that little bit extra, Lewis Rush,
The UK Nuclear Apprentice of the Year Award wassponsored by EnergySolutions - the picture to the rightshows Lewis accepting his award from Mark Lesinski fromEnergySolutions
Roland Fletcher,Apprenticeship Manager,National Skills AcademyNuclear;
“Lewis displayed a realexcitement about hisapprenticeship and it wasexcellent to see how Lewiswas using the skills andknowledge acquired duringhis apprenticeship to developreal solutions that will helphis employer to operate moreefficiently and safely.
The Panel were extremely im-pressed by Lewis’ willingness to
A NOTE OF THANKS TO ALL OF THE SPONSORS OF THEUK NUCLEAR SKILLS AWARDS
The next round of award nominations will commence soon.
Have you got the next nuclear star working in your organisation?
If you would like to view more pictures from the UK Nuclear Skills
Awards visit http://www.marickcommunications.co.uk/nsa2010/
HOW TO GET INVOLVEDIf you have any queries, or would like furtherinformation, please contact us
T 01900 898120E [email protected]
