Huseyin Bozdogan, a 28-year-old Dry Lining Apprentice for construction company The Berkeley Group has been given the prestigious Best Apprentice Award at the Group’s annual Apprentice Awards ceremony. The event, which took place at Pennington Street Warehouse London Dock on the 10th October is an opportunity for the business to celebrate and show their appreciation to all of their apprentices. The winner of this year’s Best Apprentice award has been given to Huseyin, who is taking part in a construction apprentice at the College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London, or CONEL. Huseyin was working with his uncle on extensions and roof work before and during looking for an apprenticeship. While training with the Berkeley Group, Huseyin has been able to learn new skills and make the most of the support and advice that is offered by his supervisors and mentors. The training has been great for him and the award and feedback are additional accolades to be proud of. Huseyin was presented with his award by Alison Dowsett, the Managing Director of St William, which is a regeneration project that is being carried out between Berkeley and the National Grid. Huseyin has said that this award means a lot to him and it is great to see a company actively celebrating the hard work and commitment being displayed by their apprentices. CONEL works with a range of big name employers in order to offer their students a wide range of construction apprenticeships, from brickwork and carpentry to electrical installations, property maintenance and painting and decoration. Berkeley has had 783 apprentices working on its site over the course of the last 18 months alone and is a company that is committed to having 1,500 more people in apprenticeships and training by 2018. The construction company has shown that they are focused on working closer with their colleagues in order to increase the level of skilled labour available. There is already a demand for skilled labour in the construction industry, and it is thought that over the next decade, 400,00 workers will retire, making it even more vital that more young people are encouraged in to careers in the construction industry.