BAE Systems’ apprentice Dominic Hurrell has been named ‘Apprentice of the Year’ at the company’s inaugural UK Apprenticeship Awards held in Manchester.
The Awards recognise the achievements of BAE Systems apprentices from across the UK who have excelled both in the workplace and in their academic studies — an Award was also made for work in the community.
Twenty-three year old Dominic, an assistant production engineer at BAE Systems’ Platform Solutions site in Rochester, has worked on a number of manufacturing and assembly projects, including avionic systems for the Boeing 777. He impressed the judges with outstanding academic results and by his contribution to improving the business in developing a software tool to assist with locating tools on the shop floor. Dominic was also named ‘Technical Apprentice of the Year’.
Alongside the overall winner, a further eight awards were made in categories ranging from ‘Electrical Engineering’ to ‘Fabrication’. Apprentices from Rochester won a further two awards, with Daniel Hawkins and Charlotte Tingley winning the ‘Best Business,’ and ‘Community Achievement’ categories, respectively. Additionally, a further award was given to Gary Dawson in recognition of ‘Business Support’ within our Funded Learning Programme (FLP).’
Receiving the overall award, Dominic said, “Winning this award means a huge amount to me. I have had lots of hands-on experience and learnt so much in a relatively short amount of time. University isn’t right for everyone, and I would encourage young people to think seriously about the apprenticeship route.”
Jonathan Whitworth, HR director at BAE Systems Rochester, said, “The BAE Systems Apprenticeship Awards recognise the cream of our apprenticeship talent. This year saw an extremely high calibre of applicants attracted to our renowned apprenticeship programme. The scheme has been extremely valuable in gearing up our business for the future with a pool of bright and intelligent young talent. The whole experience has provided worthwhile employment and progression opportunities for local people.”
