Winners 2019

Chloe started the degree apprenticeship scheme in 2017 and is working towards a foundation degree in engineering. She has impressed as a CAD apprentice and has worked full-time since last September in the associative vehicle architecture department, which aims to create networks of computer models to reduce the cost and time associated with developing new vehicles. Manager Michael Monaghan is full of praise for Chloe. He said: “Her ability to manage and organise a task has been exemplary, requiring little direction from myself.” She is currently a STEM ambassador for the West Midlands and has attended multiple schools to encourage other young people into an engineering career.

Robyn joined Toyota as a Level 3 advanced maintenance apprentice in 2011 and elected to study an HNC during years three and four of her apprenticeship. In 2014 she volunteered to move from Toyota’s plant in Derbyshire to the engine plant in north Wales to help address a skills shortage as part of her job to manage manufacturing quality. She is now taking an advanced manufacturing engineering degree apprenticeship and is excelling – earlier this year she was made Graduate Apprentice of the Year by the Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Alliance. “Robyn is excelling in both her studies and within her quality engineering role, said Peter McArdle, Toyota quality senior manager, citing her “professionalism and technical acumen gained through studies and on-job training, combined with her strong people skills enabling good communication up and down the organisation.”

Abbie’s job at Aston Martin is to create CAD models both for rapid prototyping and for production cars, focusing on interior and exterior trim and body development, and she has developed testing rigs to measure body safety and function. Now in her second year of apprenticeship, Abbie has represented the company at high-profile events such as the Conservative Party Conference, attended with CEO Andy Palmer, and at events promoting STEM subjects. Abbie has also returned to her school to promote apprenticeships over full-time university studies, pointing out that it was an option that wasn’t offered to her. “University was put before everything else and almost seemed like an expectation,” she said. Her goal is to become a senior engineer or higher, to demonstrate that women are just as capable as men.

Lucy was scouted by Jaguar Land Rover at the F1 in Schools competition. She started her advanced manufacturing apprenticeship in 2015 based within Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations division and has impressed since. Adrian Haldane, lead workshop supervisor at SVO, said Lucy was well regarded and “is on the path to making a substantial impact on the future of SVO and Jaguar Land Rover”. She is also sponsored by Jaguar Land Rover to study for a distance-learning degree in management and leadership at Coventry University, to help her train as a manufacturing supervisor. She has so far completed three modules, all to a first standard. Lucy is a WISE/STEM Ambassador as well as being an ambassador for Jaguar Land Rover itself, holding career talks to promote the automotive industry at various events, including the 4x4 In Schools finals and the NEC careers fair.

Emma joined Groupe PSA UK’s events department as a business apprentice after completing her A-levels and took the lead organising events ranging from dealer conferences and awards nights to exhibitions. She impressed her seniors enough to be given a permanent position in Citroёn UK’s PR office while she completes her Level 4 public relations and communications assistant apprenticeship, and just six months in she has already helped organise two new car launches. Emma aims to go on to a managerial role in marketing, PR, product or events. Citroёn wrote in her nomination: “Emma's skillset is above her grade and she exceeds expectations with her professionalism.”

Rebecca – Becky – started her final year of apprenticeship last year with the 11-outlet Sandicliffe dealer group, which serves the East Midlands area. In her time there she has “almost single-handedly taken over” the firm’s on-line aftersales platform, according to her manager Gary Dighton, helping expand it to both Amazon and eBay sales. Becky is now working on barcode systems to help better uploading of items for sale. She is described in her nomination as “a star in the making”.

Lauren is a third-year degree apprentice working at Jaguar Land Rover, currently in the seating plastics team, where she engineers CAD models for future vehicles and liaises with different departments within the company, as well as regularly meeting with suppliers such as Lear and Brose. Before moving to Warwick University for her BEng in applied engineering, she completed her foundation degree at Warwickshire College with a distinction. Lauren also mentors three other apprentices within her team and is a digital assistant in the License to Lead training course that allows managers to use various engineering tools and software used in vehicle development. Lauren has also presented at her secondary school and sixth form to spread the word about apprenticeships at Jaguar Land Rover. She aspires to a managerial position within engineering, using the skills and knowledge she has acquired to optimise engineering processes within Jaguar Land Rover.

Lauren is poised to graduate from her chartered manager degree apprenticeship after excelling in five different roles within Vauxhall’s UK sales operations. She started in 2014 in the warehouse as a claims and credits specialist, then in year two joined the HR team before switching to the Network Q used car side of the business as an operations analysis apprentice in year three, and in her fourth year she moved to the new car sales. She has passed her Chartered Management Institute business management course to Level 5 and gained distinctions in her HNC in business. Currently she works in sales reporting. Vauxhall has already offered her a job, which is a rare occurrence for an apprentice and an indication of how highly regarded she is.

Tabitha – Tabi – is in her second year as a maintenance technician apprentice and is currently working in the paint shop at BMW’s MINI plant in Oxford, following spells in the body shop and in final assembly. In her successful first year she achieved a Level 2 diploma in advanced manufacturing, and all being well will gain her HNC in mechanical engineering at the end of year four. Work achievements include designing a tool that reduces the risk of damage to the car's body shell inside the paint shop. Tabi is the apprentice representative for maintenance apprentices, identifying and solving any problems they might have. She has also impressed by being the first to step forward to take part in careers and graduate fairs, acting as an ambassador for apprenticeships. Her nomination from BMW noted that she had “huge potential” to reach a senior management role.

Claire joined Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) team in 2016 and has since achieved a distinction grade in her BTEC Level 3 in manufacturing engineering almost a year ahead of schedule. After training full-time at college for the first year of the apprenticeship, Claire moved to the SVO technical centre, where she joined the teams hand-assembling the interiors of the Range Rover SVAutobiography and chassis/engine components for the Jaguar XE Project 8. Claire recently completed a placement with the material planning and logistics team, during which she found a passion for continuous improvement and created a new process for ordering consumable items, in turn reducing losses in production time. She has designed an apprentice induction pack for the department and volunteers for the Jaguar Land Rover Project Charge cost-savings scheme. Claire is currently working within the continuous improvement team, identifying and removing waste within processes, and is studying for the Association for Project Management project fundamentals qualification in her spare time.