Apprentice of the Year 2008
Patrick Gillian, an engineering apprentice employed with
Fivemiletown Creamery, and on the Engineering Training Services
Apprenticeship programme, was announced as Northern Irelands
Apprentice of the Year 2008. The award ceremony was held on
Wednesday 21 May 2008 at the Hilton Hotel Belfast.
Presenting Patrick with the award at the gala event, Employment
and Learning Minister, Sir Reg Empey said “Patrick is an excellent
example of the achievement that can be realised when a young person
chooses an apprenticeship as a career path to highly skilled
employment. “Patrick has emerged as a clear leader amongst his peer
group and is recognised by his employer as a young man with a great
desire to succeed, demonstrating a high degree of technical ability
and commitment throughout his apprenticeship. He has made a
significant and valuable contribution to Fivemiletown Creamery in
improving efficiency and is a wonderful role model for others
considering an apprenticeship.
Patrick was also announced as Maintenance Apprentice of the Year
at the Maintenance Matters conference on May 8 at the Tullyglass
Hotel, this award was sponsored by Invista.
Engineering Training Services (ETS) has had finalists in each of
the seven competitions and are the first organisation to win
outright on two occasions. The other winner being Gordon Wiggins of
Moyola Precision Engineering based in Castledawson.
The achievement of this award demonstrates the superlative
quality of the apprenticeship format developed and delivered by the
ETS team which has managed a very successful programme since
1997.
Sir Reg also announced the introduction of all-age
apprenticeships at levels 2 and 3 with the removal of the current
upper age limit of 24. The new age provision will be separately
branded as ‘Apprenticeships NI’ Arrangements will be in place for
the main recruitment in September this year.