EAL Advanced Apprentice of the Year finalists revealed
Talented young apprentices are set to battle it out to be crowned the best in Britain by specialist industry awarding organisation EAL.
Anna Schlautmann, Drew Reidy and Daniel Swan will compete for the title of EAL Advanced Apprentice of the Year at the National Apprenticeship Awards which will be held on Thursday November 13 during the Skills Show in Birmingham.
The awards, run by the National Apprenticeship Service, are in their 11th year and recognise apprentices who have made a significant contribution to the workplace and beyond.
EAL sponsor the Advanced Apprentice of the Year category and the judging panel will choose the winner from three shortlisted finalists who won their regional competition.
Anna Schlautmann, is a 21-year-old logistics apprentice at MBDA Missile Systems, in Lostock, near Bolton, studying for an NVQ level 4 and part-time business degree.
She proactively promotes apprenticeships, in addition to being a member of the Industry Apprentice Council (IAC), which feeds apprentice views into parliament.
She was chosen as a finalist after winning the Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire regional competition.
She said: “I am really proud to be an apprentice, and want future apprentices to be proud too. I am also tremendously pleased to manage MBDA’s Charity Team in which we raise funds locally; thus developing my management skills for my future career at MBDA.”
Drew Reidy, 22, is also a member of the IAC and recently completed his advanced technical apprenticeship in electronic engineering.
At the age of 17 he applied for an apprenticeship with BAE Systems in London and has never looked back since. He won the South East regional awards to make the national final.
He said: “I gained invaluable experience, and an NC & HNC in electronic engineering; qualifications which help towards achieving my overall goal of a degree. I was a silver medallist at the WorldSkills final 2013 in the industrial electronics category, an achievement I am incredibly proud of.”
Daniel Swain, 22, is a mechanical engineering apprentice at Delphi Diesel Systems Ltd in Suffolk and was named the company’s top apprentice in 2013. He is an Apprenticeship Ambassador, promoting science, technology, engineering and maths subjects at various career events and spearheaded the development of an open day programme, allowing schools and colleges to experience engineering at first hand.
Daniel, who is in the final after winning the Central Eastern region award, has seen his commitment and excellent academic performance open up opportunities for him both at home and abroad.
He said: “I look forward to building on my already solid career foundations and inspiring future apprentices with my story.”
Julia Chippendale, Managing Director of EAL, said: “In Anna, Drew and Daniel we have three very impressive finalists. It is testament to their hard work and dedication that they have made it to the national finals.
“At EAL, we are ideally placed to understand the importance of apprentices to the future of the economy, and it is vital that we acknowledge such outstanding talent, to inspire potential future winners and showcase the best of British apprentices.
“I wish all three finalists the very best of luck.”
EAL develops and awards qualifications for the engineering and manufacturing, building services, environmental technologies, gas services, logistics, food manufacturing and business services sectors.
