WBTC - Rising Stars 2019

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Newbury Business Today

APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR (16-18) CHARLIE BINT OF SPX FLOW Matt. ‘They played a key role in celebrating the great work that goes on in our local business community when it comes to apprenticeships and learning.’ RISING STARS 2019 Along with the eight award category sponsors, the event was supported by the awarding body Pearson and Apple Print & Creative ‘I’m deeply grateful to the sponsors and supporters whose generosity made this event possible,’ said

One of the finalists, Sheena Sukumaran of Sutherland Health Ltd, said: ‘I’m sure many do not appreciate fully what it takes to put on such a performance and I commend WBTC and all the team for a wonderful day, which I’m sure for some of the youngsters will be a proud moment that they can enjoy for years to come. Well done and a huge Thank You to you all.’ Steve Cooper of Benchmark, one of the event

sponsors said: ‘I enjoyed being part of the ceremony and I was impressed by Antony’s talk on leadership. I think WBTC and the team did a first-class job and feedback from our apprentices was very positive so well done.’ Finalists all received a medal and winners were awarded their coveted trophy. In the individual learner categories the winners also received £100 with the other finalists awarded prizes of £25

each. ‘I know that people often say everyone deserves to win,’ added Matt, ‘but in this case I feel it’s true. The nominations were of such high quality that judges had a hard time deciding on the eventual winners. In my eyes, each finalist is a true rising star with an exciting future ahead.’

APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR (19+) RUSHTON GAYMES OF ATB ACCOUNTING

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Their Nominator said: Charlie joined SPX’s apprentice programme in 2017 and has made a big impact on all areas he has worked in around the factory. Charlie has taken a very important role in documenting and processing our test assembly equipment. He has had to standardise the process using an array of lean attributes he has learnt from our in house training from BAE systems. Charlie has had a difficult couple of years with his health, however this has not stopped him from completing all his apprenticeship work and gaining valuable skills within the different areas of SPX. He has only shown positivity and willingness to learn within each section he has worked in and is showing a particular interest in multi-skilled fitting. He is currently working on our ‘side entry mixers’, where he has to build and test mixers to the customers’ requirements and is able to do this with minimal supervision and to a high standard. Charlie is a hard working employee. If he keeps on going this way he will progress far within SPX Flow.

Their Nominator said: I would like to nominate Melissa who has mentored the apprentices at Bayer for the past four years. Melissa was responsible for mentoring over 15 apprentices across many different departments at Bayer. Melissa always made sure that the apprentices were aware of what Bayer did for employees in terms of general welfare and was dedicated to supporting all. Melissa fully supported the relationship with WBTC to ensure apprentices were making progress. Through Melissa’s support this meant that when I had discussions with apprentices on Safeguarding or Health & Safety they were able to apply what they were doing at Bayer to the discussions. Apprentices always felt Melissa was a supportive mentor who they could approach at any time during their apprenticeship. For one or two apprentices for whom Bayer was not the right organisation, she has supported them in defining what they want from a future employer and has guided them through the process of leaving an organisation. Their Nominator said: I am nominating Rushton Gaymes as Apprentice of the Year as he has achieved so much during his Apprenticeship journey. Rushton started at ATB Accounting on an Advanced Apprenticeship in Accounting which he soon achieved and then quickly progressed on to his Higher Apprenticeship. Rushton found this Higher Apprenticeship more challenging and he had to make more time to revise for exams, build a portfolio of evidence and cope with increasing levels of responsibility. Rushton struggled with some of the exams and was getting behind with his portfolio work. However, he persevered. His work performance was great and eventually the portfolio work came together and he passed his exams. The success doesn’t end there. ATB Accounting have taken on a new Apprentice this year and Rushton is his mentor. Rushton is a true success story and fully deserves to be Apprentice of the Year.

Peter Holden, Matt Garvey (WBTC), Charlie Bint and Paul Lewis

Peter Holden (SPX Flow), Rushton Gaymes (ATB Accounting) and Matt Garvey (WBTC)

Steph Akerman, Learning and Development Consultant, Sovereign. As a WBTC platinum employer awards winner ourselves this year, it’s great to have had the opportunity to sponsor the Rising Stars Awards for the sixth year running. At Sovereign we value the important role young people have in our business. Many of our employees started their careers as apprentices and are now fully-fledged housing professionals. This year’s nominees have been of a particularly high standard and everyone should be commended for their achievements today.

Jonathan Meek, HR Business Partner at SPX Flow. SPX Flow and WBTC have a longstanding partnership which has positively contributed to the success of our business and the local area. We continue to be committed to the development of our apprentices to grow our business and exceed our customers’ expectations. Apprenticeships play a key role in our business planning and we look forward to enhancing our apprenticeship offering in the future.

GREAT START LEARNER OF THE YEAR LEO WILLIAMS

WORKPLACE MENTOR OF THE YEAR MELISSA STRONG OF BAYER PLC

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Their Nominator said: Leo has had a brilliant year so far. He has passed his Workskills and Safeguarding qualifications already, due to his hard work and willing attitude and is working well towards his maths and English. Leo is supportive of others in the group, often helping them with their work when they are struggling. Recently he stayed on later than he needed to take part in Speaking and Listening exams that others were doing to ensure there were enough participants. Leo is a role model because he works hard and is always keen to verbally contribute in lessons. He has a can-do attitude, which sets a great example to others who might be shy or not motivated in their learning. Leo does not always find the work easy, but he overcomes these struggles, asks for help and often succeeds, which is a fine example of what education and work are all about. These aspects of Leo’s attitude bode well for when he enters the world of work.

Richard Dickson, HR Director at James Cowper Kreston. Here at James Cowper Kreston we are very proud to have been working with apprentices for many years now. Training and developing young people is vital to our success as a firm of accountants and business advisers; it helps us to give our clients a great service whilst also training the next generation. It has been a pleasure working with West Berkshire Consortiumwho have been a key partner in this process and we look forward to their continuing contribution to our future success. At the annual Rising Star Awards, we have sponsored the award for Great Start Learner of the Year for several years and are honored to play our part in supporting the hard work of the apprentices across our local community and many congratulations again to this year’s winner Leo Williams. Jonathan Baillie (James Cowper Kreston), Leo Williams and Matt Garvey (WBTC)

Steve Cooper (Benchmark), Melissa Strong (Bayer) and Matt Garvey (WBTC)

Fiona Coyne, Head of Furniture, Benchmark. At Benchmark, we are committed to developing the next generation of craftsmen and creating a legacy of making and makers. Our Apprenticeship scheme has been a key factor in our success over the last 30 years, which is why we are delighted to sponsor this award and help champion the benefits of apprenticeships to a wider audience.