A young woman from Chesterfield has beaten more than 13,000 hopefuls to be named one of the top engineering and construction apprentices in the country.
Casey Allen (17), an engineering apprentice at Foxwood Diesel in Old Whittington, narrowly missed out on being named the overall winner of the prestigious Group Training Association (GTA) England Apprentice of the Year Award.
Casey, who is about to complete level 2 of her apprenticeship and start level 3, was put forward for the award by her apprentice training provider NLT Training Services based in Brimington. She was pipped to the post for overall winner by a level 4 engineering apprentice.
Delighted to win Casey said: “I’ve only been in the industry for about 18 months so to get this award is brilliant. I didn’t expect to be shortlisted let alone the runner up.”
The award was presented by Nick Boles, Minister of State jointly for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education, at a ceremony held at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) in Westminster, London.
Minister for Skills Nick Boles said: “The GTA England awards ceremony highlights the talent, energy and skill apprentices bring to businesses both large and small across the country.
“Apprenticeships play a vital role in building a modern, highly skilled workforce. This is why we are working with organisations like GTA England and its members to deliver 3 million apprentices by 2020.”
Andy Sheppard, CEO of NLT Training Services who was at the award ceremony explained: “Casey’s enthusiasm for engineering is infectious, matched only by her performance both in our training centre and at Foxwood Diesel. She is an outstanding student who ticks every single box and we are delighted that she has been recognised at such a high level. She is a credit to apprentices and the engineering profession.”
Casey is the only female employed on the shop floor at Foxwood Diesel where she is known as ‘The Turbo Queen’ by her colleagues because of her love of stripping down and reconstructing diesel engines. She began working at the company when she was 15 as part of a work experience organised by her school.
Owner of Foxwood Diesel Ken Worsdale, workshop manager Matt Jamson and Casey’s mum also accompanied her to the award ceremony.
Ken Worsdale added: “We’re all very proud of Casey. She did very well to be up against people who are five years into their apprenticeship. She is an asset to Foxwood Diesel. She’s only been here for just over a year but every day she impresses us with her self-motivation and effort she puts into the job.”
Casey added: “Foxwood is a great company to work for. They’re really supporting me. What I’m doing with my employer, combined with the training and qualifications I’m getting at NLT, will give me skills for life.
“Apprenticeships are a great way to gain experience, learn skills and get paid. I plan to get to the highest level I can until I’m fully qualified. Eventually though I would like to combine my skills with teaching and have my own turbo specialist business where I can employ people and teach them like I’ve been taught.”
NLT Training Services is a specialist training and provider of apprentices in welding, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering and is one of only 40 technical training providers recognised by GTA in England.
