Essity Skelmersdale trainee named Apprentice of the Year

Tom Wood, an engineering apprentice at global hygiene and health company Essity’s Skelmersdale paper mill, has been named the 2023-2024 Apprentice of the Year by Waterside Training Limited, a specialist training provider delivering high-quality apprenticeships across the North West.

The award serves as a major recognition of both Tom’s dedication and the strength of Essity’s industry-leading apprenticeship programme.

Tom was selected from a group of 22 apprentices from across the region, representing a range of specialisms from electrical and mechanical engineering to design and manufacturing.

His success marks the second year in a row that an apprentice from Essity Skelmersdale has received the accolade, underscoring the site’s reputation for providing high-quality apprenticeship programmes and fostering a culture of learning and development.

Essity’s Skelmersdale facility, a professional hygiene site employing over 200 people, produces paper for the company’s well-known Tork brand.

The site is also home to a bespoke Training Academy, which not only delivers structured in-house training but also services and repairs machine parts onsite, helping to reduce operational costs and giving apprentices a more comprehensive understanding of their trade.

Kathryn Kirby, HR manager at Waterside Training, said: “Tom earned the 2023-2024 Apprentice of the Year for his year, for his exceptional contributions and performance during his Engineering Apprenticeship and was selected for his remarkable talent, dedication, work ethic and drive. 

"Tom was selected from 22 completing apprentices across disciplines such as SIMT (Science Industries Maintenance Technician) MOET (Maintenance Operations Engineering Technician) and SMT (Science Manufacturing Technician).

“Tom achieved distinctions in both his Level 3 and HNC qualifications and went on to receive a Distinction in his End Point Assessment.

"He was also nominated by his assessor as the Final Apprentice of the Year, thanks to the dedication and commitment he showed throughout his apprenticeship.”

Tom was presented with his award at an internal ceremony hosted by Essity in early June.

At the same event, Leon Elcock, a warehouse apprentice at Essity Skelmersdale, was also recognised for completing his training, demonstrating the breadth of apprenticeship opportunities available across the site.

Brian Sealey, team leader - trainer, risk, environmental, safety and health team at Essity Skelmersdale, said: “I’m extremely proud to share that Tom has been awarded Apprentice of the Year.

"It’s a fantastic achievement given the number of talented apprentices he was competing against. His four years of consistent hard work and learning have truly paid off.”

The achievements of Tom and his colleagues highlight Essity’s unwavering dedication to investing in skills, people, and career development across its six manufacturing sites and four commercial offices, which together employ more than 1,600 people in the UK.

As a global leader in hygiene and health, Essity’s broader mission of breaking barriers to well-being is matched by its ongoing commitment to building a skilled and sustainable workforce for the future.

To find out more about Essity, visit: https://www.essity.com/