The event, supported by Siemens and set against the backdrop of the University of Sheffield’s Firth Court Hall, attracted the great and the good from industry, business and public office across the Sheffield City Region and beyond.
Look North presenter Harry Gration was host for the evening and among those who attended were the Rt Hon Lord David Blunkett, the Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire Andrew Coombe, the High Sheriff of South Yorkshire Barry Eldred, Mistress Cutler Liz Cragg, Brian Holliday, managing director of Siemens Digital Factory, and research engineer and Great British Bake Off winner Dr Rahul Mandal.
As part of his prize for winning the Apprentice of the Year 2019 award, Morkar, a CNC machinist for William Cook Rail in Leeds, will travel to Germany for a special visit to Siemens’ award-winning Industry 4.0 smart factory in Amberg.
Nominations for the annual awards are made by employers and trainers to recognise the achievement or contribution apprentices have made to industry, and are judged by a panel of AMRC Training Centre staff and award sponsors. This year, the judges said they had been overwhelmed by Morkar’s enthusiasm and passion for industry, the positive impact he has had on his workplace, and that he has become an inspiration for other apprentices and work colleagues.
On accepting the award, Morkar, who is in the first year of his degree apprenticeship, said the win is a massive boost in confidence and ‘a great feeling’ knowing his hard work has earned him such recognition. He added that one of the main highlights of his year was being given the opportunity to go to a McLaren Automotive press conference announcing its partnership with the AMRC because he got to sit inside three supercars. Another high note was being involved in a project where he had to work with a company to manufacture a team of tabletop football players – all while still in his early days of learning about CNC machining.
Phil Mosley, machine shop manager at William Cook Rail, was at the awards ceremony to see Morkar lift the trophy. He said: “Shivan’s hard work, effort and motivation are unbelievable. He has a very bright future ahead of him and will go all the way.”
Other winners at this year’s awards were: Technical Support (sponsored by the MTA) – Katy Foster of Vector X-Cel; Fabrication and Welding (sponsored by the AMRC) – Matthew Wogan of Charles Thompson; Maintenance (sponsored by Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence) – Alex Bywater of Beatson Clark; Machining (sponsored by Sandvik Coromant) – Shivan Morkar of William Cook Rail; First Year (sponsored by Hallam FM) – Joel Knowles of Boeing Sheffield; HNC Achiever (sponsored by SIV) – Michael Buchanan of Inductelec; Degree Graduate (sponsored by Close Brothers) – Joshua Parkin of Bifrangi; and the Siddall Achievement Award (supported by Dr Graham Siddall – Mary Stickland of Pryor Marking Technology and Craig Horton of Technicut.
Outstanding contribution awards sponsored by the AMRC Training Centre were given to lecturer Itai Vutabwarova for the impact his teaching has had on apprentice achievements, and to Sarah Hudson for “going above and beyond” in her support staff duties.
Professor Keith Ridgway, executive dean of the AMRC, said: “The pride we feel in what our apprentices have achieved – and of how much further they can go with the knowledge and skills they have acquired – is what inspires and motivates us to do more. The success of the AMRC Training Centre is a collaborative effort involving industry partners, government and a civic university publicly committed to expanding alternative learning pathways, widening access and deepening participation among groups of people who might otherwise be left behind.”
Lord Blunkett, former Education Secretary, added: “The achievements we celebrated here tonight are testimony both to the talent and tenacity of the young apprentices, and to the ambition of their employers who have made the commitment to invest in people. However, it also a time of reflection; what we saw here tonight is a region building on its historic strengths in engineering and manufacturing, and using these skills and this history to chart a better future.”
