Inverness apprentice wins top award
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AN Inverness College UHI student has been named SECTT Electrical Apprentice of the Year for Scotland.
Sean Davies saw off competition from 700 other apprentices to take the Stage 1 Apprentice of the Year title following a one-day regional heat and final interview.
Mr Davies, who works for Korrie Technical Services, Inverness, impressed the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust’s (SECTT) judges with his practical skills and knowledge.
The 28-year-old worked as a windscreen fitter before deciding to change career and enrol on the pre-apprenticeship in electrical installation at Inverness College UHI.
During the course he did work experience with Korrie which led to a full-time job – he is currently on the second year of four-year modern apprenticeship and attends the college on block release.
The father of one said: “I’d always wanted to be an electrician but didn’t have the opportunity after leaving school. Applying for the pre-apprenticeship is one of the best decisions I’ve made as it gave me a really good grounding in electrical installation and opened up the opportunity to work for Korrie, which has been amazing.
"I’m developing my skills and knowledge every day with the support of lecturers and mentors at work. I was really nervous about entering this competition, but my lecturers encouraged me. I’m just delighted to win."
Iain King, head of engineering at Inverness College UHI, said: “Everyone at Inverness College UHI is very proud of Sean. He’s achieved so much in his time with us and this honour is reward and recognition for all his hard work.”
Peter Corbett, operations director at Korrie, said: “Over the years, the Korrie apprenticeship programme has produced some remarkable tradesmen. Sean is a real ambassador for our apprenticeship programme and this award is fantastic recognition of his effort and commitment during stage 1 of his training. It’s inspiring to see how much this opportunity means to Sean and we look forward to supporting him through the next stage of his career.”
The North of Scotland regional heat took place in Elgin in June and involved a three-hour practical exercise to complete a lighting and power installation, followed by a written assessment.
After winning the regional heat, Sean attended a national, final panel interview in Edinburgh, which took place last month.
