B&FC students big winners at Westinghouse awards ceremony

Blackpool and The Fylde College engineering students have achieved success at an international nuclear energy company’s annual awards ceremony.

Westinghouse Springfields Fuels Ltd recently held its annual Skills Awards Day at its site near Preston, to recognise young employees who have either earned their apprenticeship or achieved academic success in higher education during the past year.

A total of 13 different categories were presented during the ceremony and B&FC students performed well across a range of areas, while the coveted Westinghouse Guild Trophy for the Apprentice of the Year went to 21-year-old Tom Woods.

Following the ceremony, Engineering Lecturer Daniel Buckley said: “For so many of our students to excel at an international company like Westinghouse shows the quality of the training in technical and professional education the College provides.

“However, it is also a testament to the hard work these highly-skilled individual students put in when they are recognised with industry awards such as these.

“Hopefully these awards will translate into long and successful careers in the energy industry for all the recipients.”

The full list of B&FC winners and runners-up include: Tom Woods, 21, from Cleveleys - Apprentice of the Year Tom Woods, 21, from Cleveleys - Best Apprentice Electrical /Instrumentation – winner Jordan Ashton, 18, from Leyland - Best Apprentice Electrical /Instrumentation – runner up Vinny Bowker, 23, from Fleetwood - Best Apprentice Mechanical – winner Charlie Duxbury, 19, from Coppull - Best Apprentice Mechanical – runner up First year Apprentice Prizes: Heather Lovell, 22, from Bispham - Best Engineering Skills Award – winner Luke Robinson, 17, from Fulwood - Best Engineering Skills Award – runner up Stuart Lamb, 17, from Fulwood - Best Engineering Progress – winner Tim Shields, 21, from Chorley - Best Engineering Progress runner up The prizes were presented by Simon Marshall, managing director UK Fuel Operations at Springfields.

Keith Tidmarsh, Apprentice Training Manager at Westinghouse Springfields, said: "We have had a long and beneficial relationship with B&FC, and have been sending apprentices to study their engineering technical certificates at the College for more than 25 years, progressing many of those individuals through the Engineering Higher National Certificate programmes.

“In more recent years - with the development of B&FC’s degree programmes - Springfields has also had the chance to offer its employees the chance to study engineering degrees part-time. “Much of Springfields’ engineering workforce qualified through programmes at B&FC and we see the benefit of a local college providing quality learning opportunities.”