National Construction College - General - The NCC Awards
Date: 09 Aug 2005
A full house comprising apprentices, their families, their employers and sponsors attended the National Construction College awards, held at the East campus in Bircham Newton last week.
The packed awards ceremony, held in a converted aircraft hangar on the former RAF site was attended by more than 800 guests, including key speaker Sir Michael Latham, Chairman of CITB-ConstructionSkills, David Ballard, Director General of the British Safety Council, David Boyden, Director of the National Construction College and former Olympic gold medallist Kris Akabusi who entertained the crowds with a performance of incredible energy and motivation.
Opening the ceremony, Sir Michael Latham welcomed the guests praising the hard work and commitment of the apprentices and staff at the college and expressed hope that this would be the beginning of a "life long journey of training for the apprentices" in which they continually update their skills throughout their career.
Sir Michael also took time to commend the employers and sponsors for their commitment and dedication to training and spoke of his pride in the training provided by the college across the UK which trains over 35,000 apprentices every year.
Whilst praising the efforts of all concerned Sir Michael was also keen to remind those present of "the need to strive for greater diversity of backgrounds in the industry" and noted the huge requirement for 88,000 new entrants to the industry this year alone, even before the successful Olympic bid.
During the ceremony, a total of 30 awards were presented across a full range of construction disciplines with top honours going to Chris Flogdell from Norwich, who won both the Training Award for Construction Operatives (sponsored by Paslode Spit) and the Apprentice of the Year award (sponsored by the Construction Federation).
Chris's training comprises block periods of training at the National Construction College East and gaining on site work experience with his employer May Gurney Ltd.
In what was a day for the apprentices, the college also had something to celebrate as National Construction College Director David Boyden was presented with a certificate by David Ballard of the British Safety Council for their 5 star rating in the recent Health and Safety Management system audit.
Presenting the award, Mr Ballard said: "Good Health and Safety starts with good training. To achieve 5 stars in the audit at the first attempt is exceptional and should be commended."
In response, Mr Boyden said: "I would like to thank everyone involved in achieving this award. The enormous energy and commitment of all of the staff involved was crucial to our success and will continue to be going forward." Mr Boyden went on to praise the hard work and determination of the apprentices at the ceremony, sighting their achievements as "the foundation for the industry's future".
Chris Flogdell receives his Apprentice of the Year award from Kris Akabusi
Where do I go now?: » View the latest news items » View the news archive » Subscribe to Weekly Construction Newsletter » Submit news
