The awards will present an opportunity for three apprentices and technicians to walk away with £1,000 each. Prizes are up for grabs for an apprentice, a technician and an Armed Forces technician and, in addition to the money, they will also gain two years' free membership of the IET and payment of their technician professional registration application fee.
The awards, which are in their third year, aim to raise the profile of the high quality work that apprentices and technicians contribute to engineering businesses. This can be judged through outstanding engineering and technical ability, knowledge and understanding or by taking on an ambassadorial role in schools, through volunteer work or as role models.
William Webb, IET president, said: "The contributions that apprentices make to our industry are invaluable, yet they are not often recognised. The IET wants to showcase the hard work and dedication that apprentices bring to engineering and ensure that we continue to support future generations. These awards give us the perfect opportunity to give credit where it is due.
"Apprenticeships continue to remain top of every Government's agenda and the IET supports this view – we want to help improve the quality and reliability of apprenticeships through our Professional Home for Life®. The role of an apprentice is essential to the industry growing and developing over the coming years."
One of the three winners from last year was Jade Aspinall (pictured), a manufacturing engineer apprentice at MBDA UK.
The winners will be announced at the IET Achievement Awards Ceremony, which will take place in London on Wednesday, 18 November 2015.
The award scheme welcomes entries from apprentices and technicians who can demonstrate an exceptional engineering contribution in developing a product, service or process. There are three categories:
- IET Apprentice of the Year: this award is for an individual in at least the second year of an IET Approved Apprenticeship scheme, making good progress towards the apprenticeship qualifications, who has made significant contributions towards their employer or operational area.
- IET Technician of the Year: this award recognises technicians from the engineering, technology or education support sectors around the world who have provided an exceptional engineering contribution in developing a product, service or process or the completion of a project.
- IET Armed Forces Technician of the Year: this award recognises a member of the UK Armed Forces, who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to engineering or technology through their technical or professional development.
Find out more about the Apprentice and Technician Awards and apply online atwww.theiet.org/apprentice-awards by Friday 29 May 2015.
