06/01/2017 - Coach apprentice in line for award
Lucketts' engineer one of best in the Solent
A hardworking engineering apprentice from coach travel firm Lucketts has been named as one of the best in the Solent region.
Callum Grant, who completed his apprenticeship as a PCV Technician with the Hampshire-based company a few months ago, has been named as a finalist in The Business Excellence Awards.
Judges were impressed with the way he has exceeded the expectations of employers, tutors and customers alike and shortlisted him in the Apprentice of the Year category.
Callum, now 21, joined Lucketts aged 16 and honed his skills under the guidance of engineering director Mark Jordan, who himself started his career as an apprentice. During his apprenticeship Callum learnt how to repair and maintain everything from coffee machines to engines and divided his time between learning at Lucketts’ on-site engineering facility and at City College Southampton, where he undertook his IMI qualifications.
Keen to expand his skills, Callum also passed his PCV driving test at 18 and has taken Lucketts’ passengers to destinations across the country. He is passionate about encouraging other young people to consider apprenticeships, regularly giving talks at City College Southampton to inspire the next generation.
Callum said: “I’ve learnt more in the last four years than I think I ever could have from just reading text books at university. That’s part of the reason I’m passionate about spreading the word about apprenticeships. If young people are aware of the alternative career routes out there, like apprenticeships, they might enjoy their journey as much as me.”
Mark Jordan, who heads up Lucketts’ apprenticeship programme, said: “It’s fantastic news that Callum has been shortlisted for Apprentice of the Year and in our opinion it’s very well-deserved. He’s hardworking, talented and a real asset to the team.
“For us, apprenticeships are an important way of developing staff who may well come to be at the helm of the business in generations to come. Based on the success of Callum and other apprentices, we’re already looking at expanding our apprenticeship programme in 2017.”
Callum will find out if he has won at a glittering award ceremony in Portsmouth on February 10.