An apprentice from a leading specialist-engineering contractor with its headquarters in Inverness has been awarded a top accolade by the Scottish Building Apprenticeship and Training Council (SBATC) at a special ceremony held at Scottish Parliament.
Steven Reid, 22, who works as an apprentice plant maintenance fitter at Daviot Group, was named Scottish Civil Engineering Apprentice of the Year in the prestigious awards. He travelled to Edinburgh on Wednesday 9 December 2015 to collect the award from the Scottish Parliament.
Daviot Group nominated Steven in recognition of his high standards of work, attention to detail and consistent dedication to his on-site and college work.
Daviot Group, which recently rebranded from Daviot Farms Ltd, employed Steven in 2012 as part of their strategy to support the development of young people in theHighlands and to build a team of homegrown plant maintenance experts.
Steven, who comes from Avoch, attends the NCC College in Glasgow in four-week blocks, spending the rest of his time learning his trade at Daviot’s base in Inverness. He has now completed his SVQ III in Construction, Plant Maintenance and Repairs.
Now in their 16th year, the SBATC Apprenticeship Awards are organised by the Scottish Building Apprenticeship and Training Council (SBATC) to recognise the considerable talents, skills and abilities of construction apprentices working across Scotland. The awards assess candidates according to their practical and academic ability alongside other important skills such as organisation, communication and the ability to perform in a team.
It rounds up a successful 12 months for Steven, who was the Scottish regional winner in the UK wide “Stars of the Future” awards from the National Construction College (NCC) earlier this year. He also went on to be named best second year plant maintenance student for the NCC in Scotland.
Steven said: “I was delighted to attend the ceremony at the Scottish Parliament, and to win the award was the icing on the cake.
“I would just like to thank Daviot Group who have supported me through my practical and education learning. It’s a real honor to be recognised in this way.”
Charlie Veitch, Chief Operating Officer at Daviot Group, said: “We are very proud of Steven, who has really made the best of every opportunity that has been put in front of him.
“Steven works on a huge variety of jobs from vans, jeeps and heavy goods vehicles to a whole range of small and large pieces of plant, and the effort he puts intocompleting every job to a high standard is commendable.
“Investing in apprenticeships is a key strategy for Daviot Group as with over eight million pounds worth of plant based projects across the UK, it is vital that Daviot Group has strong, highly trained maintenance crew both here at our depot in Inverness and available to go on the road and attend vehicles and plant where necessary.
“We currently have a number apprentices working for Daviot Group and we are looking to expand that further in 2016 to support our continued growth as a leadingspecialist engineer company.”
