TRAINING charity has rewarded the achievements of a group of its learners while also presenting the first Honorary Apprenticeship in the organisation’s 28-year history at its Celebrating Success event at Middlesbrough Theatre.

Trustee of the technical training charity Alan Moore was given the honour in respect of his long-standing support of the organisation and his extensive career in industry.

Mr Moore has been an important figure in North-East industry for decades. Having been an engineer at ICI, he went on to establish his own business, Morgan Moore Engineering, which became a global success.

A huge supporter of young people and the Teesside area, Alan has been a trustee for TTE for around 18 years.

Due to ill health Mr Moore was unable to collect his Honorary Apprenticeship at the event, and TTE Managing Director Steve Grant will personally deliver it in the coming weeks.

Held in front of an audience including students and their families, representatives from colleges, sponsoring employers, local and international industry and members of the North East business community, Celebrating Success highlighted the talent and dedication of young people training for careers in industry.

This included the winner of the prestigious Managing Director’s Award, Luke Marshall from Redcar, who is employed by Lucite International. Luke, 22, has been an exemplary apprentice both during his time at TTE’s training centre and while working on-site with his colleagues at Lucite International.

TTE, which was founded in 1990, is a registered charity that provides vocational technical training, including apprenticeships, for young people on Teesside. It also delivers technical training to technicians from international industry in the UK and around the world. The surpluses from its commercial activities are re-invested in supporting the training of young people.

Recording 100 percent achievement rates in all his modules while working towards his Level 3 Instrumentation Apprenticeship, Luke continued to make a positive impression as part of Lucite International’s workforce for the second half of his apprenticeship programme.

His commitment to getting the most from his training and to supporting others was also highlighted on the evening. Luke regularly supported TTE open evenings and worked with Lucite International to encourage school leavers to consider engineering as a career and the apprenticeship route.

Finishing his Level 3 Apprenticeship ahead of his July 2018 completion date, with the support of his employer, he also studied for an additional Level 3 Electrical NVQ, which he has achieved, alongside working towards an HNC qualification in Instrumentation & Control.

Also on the night a series of awards were presented to students training in electrical, instrumentation and process disciplines at TTE whose programmes are funded by Derwentside College, Redcar & Cleveland College and South Tyneside College.

TTE also recognised the achievements of a number of apprentices who are working and learning on-site alongside experienced technicians and engineers with their sponsoring employers.

Further awards were presented to TTE learners for their efforts in the community, and the support TTE staff and students have given to a number of local good causes including Zoe’s Place, Middlesbrough & Stockton MIND and Maxis Mates dog rescue centre.

The evening was rounded off by an inspirational talk from the original Stig from BBC’s Top Gear, Perry McCarthy.

Steve Grant, Managing Director of TTE, said: “Alan and Luke are both shining examples of the high quality of people in North East industry. Alan’s experience and long career has earnt him an outstanding reputation, which we were delighted to recognise with our first ever Honorary Apprenticeship and thank him for the valuable support he has given TTE over the years.

“Luke, along with the other learners we celebrated at our awards event, are definitely the future of industry and will follow in Alan and his peers’ footsteps to ensure that companies in the North East, across the UK and around the world can call on talented, motivated and skilled people to play a significant part in their operations.”

Luke said: “I am very proud to win the Managing Director’s Award, which is really the icing on the cake of my time as an Apprentice with Lucite and TTE. The trainers have all be really supportive and encouraging, as have been my colleagues at Lucite International and I am grateful for the opportunities they have given me. My apprenticeship has been the best route for a career in industry and I would encourage anyone to follow the same path.”

Faith Hambley from Lucite International: “Luke’s enthusiasm and determination to make a positive difference has made him a popular colleague and he has earned the respect of more experienced technicians in our workforce. He truly does exemplify the value of investing in young people and Apprenticeships as he has quickly become an important part of our business and has an exciting career ahead of him. Lucite is very proud of Luke and his achievements”