Huddersfield Apprentice Wins Prestigious Regional Award

A talented young apprentice from Huddersfield has won a prestigious regional apprentice award at this year’s EEF Future Manufacturing Awards.

Elliot Lander works for global crop science company Syngenta in Huddersfield as a Mechanical Engineering Apprentice and was recognised as the EEF Engineering Apprentice of the Year, 2018.

The award recognises the outstanding contribution being made by manufacturing apprentices across the region. The award is highly-respected and hotly contested with winners selected by a panel of judges drawn from business leaders, industry experts and academics.

Up against competitive entries from across the region, Elliot won the title after impressing judges with his commitment, ambition and drive to pursue a career in manufacturing. Elliot’s passion, hard work and attention to detail, along with his ability to take on large responsibilities in leading teams were the deciding factors for the judging panel. In support of his nomination, one of Elliot’s Supervisory Placement Manager’s had remarked “Elliot has taken a lead on complex maintenance tasks, often in difficult conditions and has found ways to improve these maintenance tasks, making them quicker and easier to perform as well as documenting them for others to follow, in line with our procedures. Elliot is, in my opinion, above and beyond what we would expect a good apprentice to be like, he is not only a role model to the other apprentices but also to the qualified Engineers who work with him and who have the upmost respect for him.”

Judges said they had been overwhelmed by the high calibre of apprentices nominated this year, making Elliot’s win even more of an achievement.

Elliot is now in the running for the national title where he will go head-to-head with regional winners from across the UK at the national awards gala in London in January next year.

On winning the EEF Award, Elliot said: “I am honoured to have been chosen as regional winner. It’s an amazing feeling to be recognised for doing something I genuinely enjoy and is setting me up for my future. I’m only at the very start of my career, so to receive gold at these awards and be singled out in this way is a real boost.

My apprenticeship is challenging and rewarding and I hope my success encourages others to think hard about taking up an apprenticeship in manufacturing too. Now I can’t wait to get to the national finals to meet the other regional winners and see how I compare.”

Richard Halstead, Membership Director for the North at EEF says: “Elliot undoubtedly deserves this award. He won the judges over with his hard work, enthusiasm and dedication. It’s right that he should be congratulated for doing so well, especially when up against other candidates of such high quality.”

“Manufacturing is essential to British economic success and apprentices have a vital role to play in securing the future of our sector. It’s great to see Elliot’s efforts being recognised and I wish him the best of luck at the national finals, he’s a fantastic role model and has a very bright future ahead of him.”

For more information about the awards visit: www.eef.org.uk/awards/.