Member Article

Walsall apprentice lands ‘Young Engineer of Year’ award

A West Midlands apprentice has been named as one of the future stars of engineering at the Manufacturing Technologies Association’s Annual Awards.

Scott Gullick, a third-year apprentice at PP Electrical Systems, beat off competition from across the UK to secure the MTA’s ‘Young Engineer of the Year’ title.

The 24-year old impressed judges with his commitment to personal development and the way he has embraced a number of roles at the control and automation specialist’s Walsall factory.

He is currently well on the way to completing his NVQ/ONC in Electrical Engineering, with the longer-term plan to secure his HNC and then move into Design Engineering.

“A career in manufacturing has always been something I wanted to explore so to secure such a prestigious title so early in my career is a tremendous feeling,” explained Scott, who studies at Walsall College.

“I started as a general operative, but before long I knew I wanted to go down the apprentice engineer route. This gave me the chance to work in different areas of the business and receive mentoring from some excellent professionals.”

He continued: “Winning ‘Young Engineer of the Year’ will give me the confidence to continue to learn and attempt new things. Hopefully one day, I can pass what I know on to the next generation.”

Scott is one of a clutch of apprentices currently going through the PP Electrical training scheme, which involves more than 200 hours of personal development every year.

The company actively encourages its employees to contribute new ideas and to gain new skills so they can work across various areas of the business.

Ian Knight, Director of Operational Excellence, concluded: “Scott has been a fantastic addition to the team, showing a natural ability to learn and apply best practice manufacturing and assembly processes.

“His desire to take on new responsibility was there from day one and I have no doubt he will go on to complete his apprenticeship, HNC and then carve out a career as a highly successful design engineer.”

PP Electrical, which is a member of the Midlands Assembly Network, is one of the UK’s leading providers of control and automation solutions.

From its 40,000 sq ft world class facility, it works with twelve of the world’s largest machinery manufacturers, including Mazak and Ishida Europe.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Russ Cockburn .