Not one but two of our wonderfully talented apprentices brought home the much coveted Apprentice of the Year awards in their respective specialisms at last week’s Make UK Manufacturing Awards.

Our commercial apprentice, Luke Dawson, received the award for Business Apprentice of the Year – Rising Star whilst, Apprentice Design Engineer, Joe Burns, was awarded Engineering Apprentice of the Year Award – Final Year.  

CEO Glenn Fletcher said: ‘This is an absolutely incredible achievement, not only recognising the hard work and talent that these two young people have, but also to our ‘Future Leaders’ apprenticeship scheme, which we have developed to support and nurture our apprentices and ensure they get given the best opportunities to create a successful career for themselves. 

‘We couldn’t be more proud of Luke and Joe, not only for winning this award but for what they bring to Tribosonics each and every day. Congratulations to you both!’ 

We caught up with Luke to get his thoughts on this incredible achievement and what he thinks of the Tribosonics’ ‘Future Leaders’ apprenticeship scheme.

 

How does it feel to have been awarded Apprentice of the Year at this year’s Make UK Awards?

Luke: It feels great to be recognised for the hard work I’ve been doing by Make UK. But also by Tribosonics who were clearly confident enough in my application to put me forwards in the first place.

 

How do you think this will impact your future career?

Luke: I can use it to demonstrate that I have had (and am having) success in my role/time at Tribosonics and have achieved significant things, which have been recognised not only by myself, but by the Business and Make UK.

 

What piece of advice would you give to others who may be considering an apprenticeship?

Luke: If getting a head start in your field and working while-learning appeals to you, then absolutely go for it. It is a lot of work, but worth it if the apprenticeship matches your career aspirations.

 

Can you tell us about the Tribosonics Future Leaders scheme and why you chose to do your apprenticeship with us?

Luke: When I first worked at Tribosonics it was clear from my first day of work-experience in 2019 that the apprentices were given significant responsibilities from day 1 and played a huge role on an individual basis in the business’ success. This has always appealed to me as someone who wants to feel like the work they do has a large positive impact on the business and people around them. Tribosonics was the obvious option for me.

 

What support have you received from your colleagues at Tribosonics?

Luke: All my colleagues always ask me about my course and offer to help where my workplace assignments cross over with their parts of the business. I have been able to run multiple projects for my degree-course within Tribosonics and as such have been enabled to have great success so far on my course.