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AMRC Training Centre

Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021

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Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021 has been made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsor companies

Headline sponsor

Category sponsors

With a special thanks to Sort Of Films for producing the videos that you will see here tonight

Engineering the next generation

Welcome everyone to the 2021 Apprentice of the Year Awards Since 2013, the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre has been nurturing the next generation of engineering talent, supplying the region’s manufacturers with a pipeline of skilled apprentices who make a real, significant and lasting impact. Our apprentice awards ceremony is a highpoint of the year where we celebrate their achievements and show our appreciation to their employers for the vital role they play in developing the talented engineers of tomorrow. This year, more than any other, apprentices have proven the value they bring to industry. Our apprentices have been critical to the endurance of many businesses in a tough climate, demonstrating their energy, enthusiasm and talents in a uniquely pressurised environment. Through lockdowns, home learning, social distancing and hybrid working, our apprentices’ flexibility, dependability and dynamism have come to the fore. Many have worked longer hours, others had minimal supervision, and some were furloughed; but all have diligently continued their training in a new digital environment. For that, every one of our 590 training centre apprentices deserves recognition. The training centre staff have been integral to this, acting quickly and effectively to move over to the digital world; we locked down, but

we did not close down, and that was due to our fantastic teachers, trainers and staff. Similarly, I am equally proud of the 350 small, medium and large businesses with which we work. Without our apprentices, some companies may not be here today, but without those supportive and forward-thinking employers, nor would our apprentices. That partnership between the training centre and our employers, backed by the University of Sheffield, is the cornerstone of how we are meeting the future skills demands together, to help industry keep pace with technological change. Tonight, we must celebrate that partnership and the dedication of our apprentices.

I want to thank our sponsors this year for their continued support in making this event possible, especially our headline sponsor, global toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker. I also want to give a warm welcome our ceremony host Steph McGovern, a former apprentice herself whose success should serve as an inspiration to us all. I hope you have a fantastic evening toasting the wonderful achievements of our apprentices and their tremendous successes.

Nikki Jones AMRC Training Centre Director

Confidence takes off

for award-winning Bethany Working side-by-side with aerospace giant Boeing, presenting novel technologies to global audiences and inspiring the next generation of female engineers – it’s been quite the 12 months for Bethany Cousins since being named the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre Apprentice of the Year in 2020. Bethany, who achieved a first-class Manufacturing Technology degree apprenticeship earlier this year, works in the Gears team at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). She scored a double whammy at last year’s ceremony, being crowned the overall winner and degree apprentice of the year. “Winning the two awards has definitely given me more confidence – both in myself and in my career choices,” said Bethany, 26. “I have brought that confidence into the workplace and have grasped some amazing opportunities.” Awards judges highlighted Bethany’s

‘ambition and academic excellence’, with Stanley Black & Decker boss Sir George Buckley, adding: “There’s no doubt that Bethany is a genuine and proven high-flier. She has shown determination second-to-none.” Bethany has put that determination to good use, helping the AMRC’s work with Boeing take off. She added: “Shortly after winning the award, I completed some of the AMRC’s investigation and development work on the novel gear manufacturing technique, Power Skiving. “More recently, I have supported Boeing Research and Technology, investigating advanced machining technologies that could be employed at Boeing Sheffield

to improve productivity and reduce costs.” Bethany, of Sheffield, says the confidence she gained from winning apprentice of the year has helped her both as an engineer, and now as a senior member of the AMRC Gears team. She said: “Since winning the award, I have presented some of the AMRC Gear Centre’s recent work to global audiences. I have the self-assurance now to be in those situations and the confidence to answer detailed questions from industry experts.” In July this year, Bethany received further recognition when she was named apprentice of the year at the Made in Yorkshire Awards. Judges marked her out as a ‘role model for any young engineer, especially young female engineers’. “I am always striving to be the best engineer that I can and I want to inspire young girls to think about engineering as a career path,” said Bethany.

Bethany at work with the Machining Group.

Bethany speaking at the opening of the Nuclear Manufacturing Summit 2021.

Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021

“I want to keep progressing my career now, picking up as much knowledge and experience as I can, and embracing all the opportunities that come my way.”

SINCE O PE N I N G I N

2013 AMRC

TRAINING CENTRE

1,710

Number of all students

590

Current number of apprentices

602

Number of apprentices who have graduated, injecting skills into the region and beyond

£22m+ Earnings by apprentices

469

Businesses we have worked with to find, train and mould future workforces

Counties of businesses where our apprentices are located

Stanley Black & Decker Supports the AMRC Training Centre Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021 For 178 years, Stanley Black & Decker has been for the makers and creators, the craftsmen and caregivers – those doing the hard work to make the world a better place. We are focused on delivering societal good through our innovations and business model approach, with a heightened focus on diversity and inclusion, environmental impact and the communities where our employees live and work. Thank you to the University of Sheﬃeld AMRC Training Centre for supporting apprenticeships and empowering the next generation of makers and creators.

For Those Who Make The WorldTM

From Sheffield slum to the American dream Sir George Buckley is an irrefutable captain of industry: he holds the post of chairman at Smiths Group; was previously chairman and chief executive of American conglomerate 3M; headed up the Brunswick Corporation and served as chief technology officer at the multinational Emerson Electric Company. He’s also the only British person to run an American Fortune 500 company. Not bad really for the lad who grew up in a playground of poverty in the slums of Sheffield and left school with no qualifications. “The difficulty for someone with my career is you end up either looking like a modern-day Oliver Twist or Superman, and neither one of those is right,” explains George, who splits his time between homes in Florida, Minnesota and the rolling hills of Derbyshire. “This boy who left school with no training in algebra, trigonometry, geometry, or in any of the science subjects, how can he now hold 20 or so patents, have published more than 60 Learning Society papers, won international prizes and ended up running one of the most innovative and highest value corporations – how could that happen?

“It just proves that God has a sense of humour.” Sir George’s illustrious career began aged 15 as an apprentice electrician with building firm NG Bailey. The company treated him ‘very well’ but following an epiphany while fitting cables in an unfinished science lab at Sheffield College of Technology, the young George knew he needed to bulk up his educational muscle. “Life really isn’t about a single turning point. It’s about multiple turning points and realising I needed to get better educated was one of those turning points,” says the 74-year-old. “It was a bit of an epiphany that came about on a day I was assigned to an electrician I had never worked with before. We were working in the labs at Sheffield College of

“I had a wonderful time being an apprentice. It was probably the first time in my life I realised I was actually good at anything.” Sir George Buckley.

Technology on Pond Street going through a ‘punch’ list of things that hadn’t quite been finished. As we were fitting cables this chap turned to me and said ‘George do you know why we’re putting in heavier cables for the power circuits?’ “I told him I thought it was because the power circuits would use more electricity and that’s when he offered to show me how to calculate the power and to work out the relationships between current, voltage and wattage. ‘Sure’, I said. “Looking back now, it was one of these strange, serendipitous moments that happen to people in life. There we were, in a college lab that was still largely unfinished, and there just happened to be a blackboard with a piece of chalk. I look back and think how can this be possible? So, this man started to write a little bit of algebra on the board and I was completely lost. On the way home that night I realised that if I didn’t do something about my education I was going to be

Engineering the next generation

ignorant for the rest of my life.” The following day, Sir George asked his company if he could take day release and although he wasn’t able to start until he was 16 (in fact he was almost 17 when he began) he signed up for a five year City and Guilds electricians course, attending Granville College one day and one night a week for three years, and one day and two nights for two years. He added: “I had a wonderful time being an apprentice. It was probably the first time in my life I realised I was actually good at anything. I was a good apprentice, a skilled apprentice. And I was a good student too. I never missed a class and I think I came top of every subject in every class because I was so motivated.” His drive and ambition to become an electrical engineer took him to the University of Huddersfield in 1969 where he studied a BSc in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. His thirst for knowledge continued, later gaining a PhD in engineering. “I think growing up in those days as a member of the working class you are trained to believe and treated to believe you are in fact inferior through social stratification. I believed that I was inferior

and I think the pursuit of an engineering degree was about me trying to prove I wasn’t inferior. Not to anyone else but to myself. “In a way the beauty of the story of my life, and other people like me, I think, is that we break the mould.” The Yorkshireman not only broke the mould, he re-engineered it and took it with him across the pond to the land of hope and glory. “When I moved to America it turned out my British engineering education was really very good, relative to what I was surrounded by, and the standard was high,” added Sir George. “Over a period of years I got to be the one who was always given the hardest problems to solve; I became a kind of engineering Sherlock Holmes looking for solutions. It’s really bizarre and I absolutely loved it.” Sir George moved to the USA in 1978 after being offered a job by General Motors Research in Detroit. He went on to work for Detroit Edison and the Emerson Electric Company and, after a brief return to the UK with British Rail, he went back to America to take the helm of the Brunswick Corporation in Chicago.

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.” George Bernard Shaw.

Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021

He said: “It was hypnotic to be able to work on ideas for new products and conceive of things that might be and then invent them. There’s a wonderful line from playwright George Bernard Shaw: ‘Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.’ This is the story of my life. Having that desire, the burning force inside of you.” His advice for young people hungry to succeed boils down to two things: education and hard work; qualities he has seen in spades when taking part in the judging panel in previous years for the AMRC Training Centre Apprentice of the Year Awards. “I was looking at the future,” says Sir George. “Seeing these young folk who are just brilliant. I wasn’t that good when I was 34-yearsold, never mind 20 or 24. I think to myself this is a wonderful melting pot for the future for manufacturing in Britain. “And of course, what we are doing is giving people skills that can help that conversion from raw material to finished goods; we’re accelerating that conversion. That’s why I think places like the AMRC and the training centre are so vitally important to the future of Britain.”

Steph McGovern:

From packed apprenticeship to Packed Lunch Award-winning business journalist, national television presenter and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. It’s fair to say our host for this year’s Apprentice of the Year Awards holds an impressive CV - and it all started with an apprenticeship. Steph McGovern is the presenter of Channel 4’s daily lunchtime show Steph’s Packed Lunch and a panel show regular, including as host of BBC One’s Have I Got News For You. The 39-year-old, from Middlesbrough, has been a fixture on our radios and TV screens for the last 15 years, firstly delivering the business news on BBC 5Live, Radio 4 and Radio 2, before landing a full-time spot on BBC Breakfast. Away from news, Steph has launched her own CBBC show looking for the next generation of entrepreneurs, Pocket Money Pitch. On BBC Two’s Made in Great Britain, she joined 21st Century makers exploring the skills and industries that built the nation. She has also co-hosted five series of the popular BBC One show, Shop Well For Less, and four series of the consumer rights institution, Watchdog. Where did this incredible career begin? It just so happened to be with an apprenticeship at Stanley Black & Decker, who are the headline sponsor for this evening’s ceremony. At 16, Steph won the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship to

become an engineering apprentice at the global toolmaker’s power tools plant in Spennymoor, County Durham. Within three years, she had saved the company an incredible £150,000 a year with a new design for the Leaf Hog, which vastly improved the garden vacuum’s production. For that superb innovation, Steph was named Young Engineer for Britain. Steph has repeatedly underlined the impact of her apprenticeship on her career, saying the transferable skills she learned have helped her in every job she has had: from engineer, to work experience on Tomorrow’s World, to BBC reporter and now Channel 4 host. As a business journalist, Steph visited more than 1,000 workplaces across the UK and on Steph’s Packed Lunch she is now on a mission to explain both the real economy and be an ambassador for STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths). In 2021, she was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal

Academy of Engineering for her outreach work in engineering. And Steph is no stranger to the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre’s apprenticeship programme either, having presented the centre with the training partner of the year prize at this year’s Enginuity Skills Awards. Her journey from engineering apprentice to Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, is among many of the inspiring stories this evening will no doubt bring - so from a packed CV to Steph’s Packed Lunch, please welcome Steph McGovern to the AMRC Training Centre Apprentice of the Year Awards.

Category sponsors

Rising Star of the Year Award

Apprenticeship Champion of the Year Award

Special Recognition Award

Sponsored by Boeing

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Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company, with a growing UK workforce of 2,600 direct employees across the country and a spend of £2 billion a year with UK suppliers. In 2018, Boeing opened its first European manufacturing site in Sheffield, an aircraft parts facility which employs dozens of apprentices.

At Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, our technology enables manufacturers to take control of quality at all the key stages of their process. We do this through an unparalleled portfolio of CAE solutions for design and engineering, CAD CAM and complementary software for production applications, metrology hardware and software solutions, as well as data management and analytics tools.

Engineering the next generation

Finalists for the ‘C&S Fabrications’ Rising Star of the Year Award

Adrian Salatowski

Jack Gascoigne

Crowle Wharf Engineers

The University of Sheffield AMRC

I have recently been promoted to project engineer at Crowle Wharf Engineers (CWE). This role gives me various opportunities to implement skills and knowledge gained during my time at the AMRC Training Centre at both level three and level six courses. This exposes me to new experiences such as management and leadership as well as supply chain management and budget planning.

I am an assistant design engineer at the AMRC’s Design and Prototyping Group. I contribute to a multitude of projects, from ideation and conception, right through to detailed design, analysis and manufacture.

The way CWE wishes me to progress is fully aligned with the qualification I gained during the degree course. The course laid very strong foundations for my future career, and I believe that it had prepared me well for all the future challenges regarding promotion.

I was extremely proud to receive a first-class Bachelor’s degree with honours in Mechanical Manufacture through my AMRC Training Centre degree apprenticeship. I achieved an overall average of 85 per cent. I apply the knowledge I gained from my degree to my job every day, allowing me to be the best engineer I can possibly be. I aspire to become a chartered engineer and to progress to more senior, technical engineering roles as my career progresses.

Nandipha Moyo

Ben Wright

Boeing

Tribosonics

My role is a machinist and I am responsible for manufacturing aerospace parts on a nine-axis machining centre. I would like to increase my knowledge in engineering and progress within the company in order to further develop my experience in this field of work.

I am a core member of the operations team as an engineer with a plethora of responsibilities. One of these is the role of project manager of one of the most significant projects to the business.

During my apprenticeship at the AMRC Training Centre, there have been many memorable moments, mainly meeting and getting to know the other apprentices for the first time. I learned lots and received help and advice from them about engineering and life in general as I was working with people of all ages and different backgrounds.

Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021

A key highlight for me during my degree apprenticeship was the hands-on experience gained from both the machining pathway and the practical labs at the University of Sheffield engineering facility, The Diamond. I would like to move into line management in the future. Enabling and aiding people with their professional development in the engineering sector is something that fascinates me.

Finalists for the ‘MTA’ Apprenticeship Champion of the Year Award

Rebecca Wright

Scott Townsend

The University of Sheffield AMRC

Midland Aerospace

My role as an engineering technician is really varied. I work on lots of different projects at the same time, from major aerospace companies to smaller businesses.

My current role is a setter and operator of the milling department where I set and operate three-axis milling machines and I am learning how to set and operate our five-axis machines, as well as internal auditing.

My main areas of work focus on computer-aided design (CAD), rapid prototyping, bespoke fixturing and robotics for our demonstrator cells where we showcase our innovative technologies. I also update and monitor the health and safety documentation for our machines, play an active role as a mental health champion and support the AMRC’s wider STEM activities. My main highlight in my career would be supporting other people who are struggling with mental health as it’s not something you typically expect in a workplace.

Some of my highlights whilst in centre would be practising programming and helping my peers to do this, manually machining a dovetail pyramid, and talking to potential apprentices and parents at open evenings. My career aspiration is to become a manufacturing engineer; programming, developing, and machining new products as efficiently as possible, potentially leading a team in doing this.

Engineering the next generation

‘M4S NEWS’ Special Recognition Award

Liam Shaw Polypipe Building Products Liam started at the AMRC Training Centre as a mature student, undertaking a fabrication and welding apprenticeship a few years ago. He was already working for Polypipe Building Products at the time but wanted to upskill to grow and develop his skills and knowledge. This ambition to strive for better saw Liam undertake an apprenticeship role to enable his progression - and he’s proof that a change of career is possible at any age. It was clear from day one that Liam was a very keen and driven individual with a great, mature, engineering mindset and didn’t disappoint during his time with the training centre. He quickly became the group leader (nominated by his peers) and set the standard for the rest of the group to follow in terms of behaviour, standard of practical work and general workshop ethics. Liam has shown great determination and resilience to pass every aspect of this apprenticeship and is a credit to both the training centre and himself.

Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021

Finalists for the ‘Sandvik Coromant’ Advanced Apprentice of the Year Award

Gabriella Spencer

Samuel Thomas Redgrave

Jordan Rhys Weston

Stanley Black & Decker

Niftylift

Boeing

I am a tool and die maintenance engineer (toolmaker). My main duties consist of maintaining press, punch and die tools and making new parts for machines around the factory. Some of these tools include: surform, press, injection moulding, chisel crop tools and many more.

My role is a production engineer and I am responsible for ensuring that production runs at Niftylift. At the AMRC Training Centre, I have enjoyed working with my fellow students and teachers, learning the curriculum, and expanding on it. I specifically enjoyed working with the robots and 3D printing.

My current role is a multi-axis CNC machinist, which involves manufacturing complex aircraft components to very tight tolerances using a nine-axis machining centre. During my time at the AMRC Training Centre, one of my favourite moments was during my first year, where I began to develop my engineering knowledge in turning, milling, and hand fitting etc.

I thoroughly enjoyed my block training at the AMRC Training Centre. The staff are not only fun and experienced, but have given me so many opportunities to help reach my goals. These included welding and maintenance training, as well as the machining pathway. This was very helpful as I’m wanting to progress to become multi-skilled in the future.

At Niftylift, I have become the paint specialist for Hoyland, working closely with my counterpart in Milton Keynes and liaising with our paint supplier, HMG. I am also the AutoCAD engineer in control of all site maps and layouts. I want to continue my education by completing a HNC/HND.

Since joining Boeing, I have used these skills daily and built up my knowledge even further. My near-term career aspirations are to become a team leader, to oversee a small team whilst also still being involved with the machining aspect of my job.

Highly Commended ‘Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence’ Advanced Apprentice of the Year Award

Engineering the next generation

Finalists for the ‘NIKKEN’ HNC & Higher Apprentice of the Year Award

Louise Brammer

Jordan Clayton

Street Cranexpress

Polypipe Building Products

My current role is as a technical estimator. I use engineers’ reports, technical documents, and my own knowledge to plan and cost repair works and modifications on customers equipment.

My current role within Polypipe Building Products is a second year journeyman toolmaker. My role incorporates all aspects of toolmaking and mould making. This includes producing tooling and components through a range of machining techniques and also the service and repairs of existing injection mould tools.

One of the highlights of the AMRC Training Centre is the people, the tutors, and other apprentices that make the environment fun and provide a good transition into a work environment. My goal for the future is to continue learning and gaining experience at Street Cranexpress.

Highly Commended ‘Hallam FM’ HNC & Higher Apprentice of the Year Award

Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021

The highlight of my time at the AMRC Training Centre would be completing both the BTEC and HNC in the centre. The second highlight would be working on the shop floor within the centre as my journey into engineering began there. In the future I would hope to have a management role within the company.

Finalists for the ‘Close Brothers’ Degree Apprentice of the Year Award

Sean Feather

Kate Todd-Davis

Connor Blades

FIRMA Engineering Ltd

Rolls-Royce plc

Stanley Black & Decker

I work for FIRMA Engineering Ltd, an engineering consultancy, as a mechanical engineer. I cover a wide range of roles that are project specific, such as design, analysis, administration, additive manufacture and prototyping, marketing and media production.

As a manufacturing engineering apprentice, I currently work within the Washington team to optimise working practices, develop methods for new parts, as well as learning to program coordinate measurement machines within the newly-introduced measurement software.

As a resident engineer for DeWALT Professional Power Tool division within the Hellaby facility, I work within part of a global network and I am tasked with ensuring the quality of DeWALT Professional Power Tools meets all technical specifications.

The AMRC Training Centre has allowed me to get involved with many different engineering processes that I previously had not experienced, such as welding, milling, turning, hand fitting, CNC machining, casting, and laboratory experiments. My career aspirations are to work with leading edge manufacturing technologies and to develop my skills within them.

One of my most notable achievements is achieving a first class honours degree through the AMRC Training Centre. During my study I was continually supported by the academic staff and was able to build a strong network of working relationships. I am constantly looking for new and complex opportunities to develop current ways of work. In the future I hope to continually improve my skills as an engineer to progress onto further study and more challenging opportunities.

Whilst at the AMRC Training Centre, my greatest highlights have been alongside the friends I have met whilst undertaking practical tasks on the training centre shop floor, as well as using the University of Sheffield Diamond building facilities. Within Stanley Black & Decker, I aim to utilise the skills which I have been provided with through the AMRC Training Centre to become a product designer in the future.

Highly Commended ‘Boeing’ Degree Apprentice of the Year Award

Engineering the next generation

Award winners 2020/21

Credit: Insider

Our astounding apprentices are not only making their mark on AMRC Training Centre home soil – but they’re also cementing their reputation for being the best across a number of local, regional and national awards. Here we highlight just a few of their achievements.

Rotherham Apprentice Awards, August 2020

National Apprenticeship Awards, November 2020

Made in Yorkshire Awards, July 2021

Kirbi Leigh Taylor, NIKKEN

Emma Sisman, Niftylift

Winner intermediate category

Advanced Apprentice of the Year, Yorkshire and the Humber

Bethany Cousins, The University of Sheffield AMRC

Credit: Insider / 246 Photography

Apprentice of the Year

Made in Sheffield Awards, July 2021

Rotherham Apprentice Awards, August 2021

National Apprenticeship Awards, October 2021

Ben Wright, Tribosonics

Lewis Massie, AESSEAL (left)

Kate Todd-Davis, Rolls-Royce plc

Apprentice of the Year

Higher/Degree Apprentice of the Year

Higher/Degree Apprentice of the Year, North East

Harry Long, AESSEAL (right) Advanced Apprentice of the Year

Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021

Engineering the next generation

AMRC Training Centre Apprentice of the Year Awards 2021 Headline sponsor

Category sponsors

C&S Fabrications Manufacturing Technologies Association M4S NEWS Sandvik Coromant Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence NIKKEN Hallam FM Close Brothers Boeing

AMRC Training Centre, Advanced Manufacturing Park, Off Highfield Spring, Catcliffe, Rotherham, S60 5BL. 0114 222 9958

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