Every year, in conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers and Looking Glass Makers of London, the industry holds a 'Best Apprentice of the Year' Awards ceremony.
Presented by Alderman Sir David Wootton, last year's Lord Mayor of the City of London, at the Glass Sellers Mansion House banquet last night, the awards recognise those apprentices who have demonstrated exceptional ability and commitment to their training and skills development, as well as the significant impact apprentices make to their employer's business development and growth.
The three finalists were invited to the event along with representatives from their respective companies. Mike Crotty from Quinn Glass in Elton, Chester, was named as Best Apprentice of the Year 2013-2014 with Reuben Allonby from Cumbria Crystal and Nathan Herring from Saint-Gobain Glass also recognised as Highly Commended runners-up by the judging panel. All three received trophies and Mike Crotty was awarded a £1,000 travel bursary to allow him to visit some overseas glass factories to help broaden his glass knowledge.
Dave Dalton, CEO of British Glass, commented:
The glass industry in the UK needs world-class skills to compete on a global scale and to manage the challenges of the future. We are committed to ensuring apprentices in our industry have real, permanent jobs to go into and to enabling employers to really take ownership of the apprenticeship programme so they have the skills the company needs to move forward.
