A heating and ventilation apprentice from Torfaen has been named Welsh Junior Apprentice of the Year.
Daniel Lewis, 22, has been learning his trade on the job at Newport-basedS C Moore (Mechanical and Ventilation) Ltd, and on block release at Coleg Glan Hafren.
Daniel, who left a hairdressing apprenticeship after deciding it wasn’t for him, is now in his second year of the Heating and Ventilation (Industrial and Commercial) Level 2 course. He was helped to find his job by Torfaen council’s After Care Employment (ACE) scheme, which was funded by the European Social Fund.
Dennis Hopper, head of building services division at S C Moore, said Daniel was the first young person the company had taken on under the ACE scheme and an apprenticeship had only been offered after 18 months when Daniel’s potential was showing.
“In September 2008, I felt he was good enough to put onto the commercial and industrial course at Glan Hafren,” he said. “All credit to the lad, he’s done exceptionally well. He’s more than capable, he’s doing well in college, his reports are excellent – some of the best I’ve seen in 50 years in industry – and he’s got a bright future ahead of him.”
“Dan always had a really good work ethic but like most young people, found it very difficult to access training and opportunities in this field,” said Gail Clarke, employment and training co-ordinator for Torfaen Young People’s Support Service (TYPSS). “Everyone who has worked with Dan is very proud of his achievements,” she added.
Daniel is now working on sites in hospitals and schools with the company’s senior engineers and has even worked on some hospital projects on his own with supervision.
The Wales Training Group’s HVCAR Awards have been running for over ten years and are organised jointly by the HVCA (Heating and Ventilating Contractors Association) and BEST (Building Engineering Services Training).
