HIP Apprentice of the Year Competition ANNOUNCES 2020 WINNER

Congratulations to Thomas J Thomas who recently won HIP Apprentice of the Year 2020!

Thomas beat off competition from two other talented plumbing and heating learners in the final, which had a revised format this year. The Level 3 Coleg Llandrillo student said: “The competition was great. The final was a step-up from the regional heat - it was a challenge to get it done in time.

“It’s an amazing thing to put on your CV - if I ever need to look for work in future, I can say I’ve done it and it’ll give me a step up.

“Even if you don’t get through the regionals, it’s still an amazing thing to say you’ve done. Being able to work this accurately under pressure in a competition means that the work you do in college is no problem.”

Thomas’ lecturer Chris Walling said: “He’s great in college and when we visit him on site he’s always confident. Best of luck to him, I’m sure he’ll be brilliant at whatever he does. I’m made up for him and made up for the college."

The two other finalists this year were Level 3 Joseph Parkinson from University Academy Holbeach and Level 2 apprentice Harry Pegler from SGS College.
Joseph (left), who came second overall, said: “I tried my best - but I was a bit short for time. The competition helps you - when you’re going into someone’s house, you don’t have to look back too much, you know you’ve done a good job. It builds your confidence - even if you don’t win, you get loads of prizes.”

Harry (right), who finished third, added: “This competition is a great opportunity - it’s great to do and it’s nice to have on your CV. It was challenging and a few bits were stressful, but that’s plumbing!”

Dozens of competitors took part in seven regional heats between January and March across the country, before the lockdown caused the competition to be postponed. The seven regional winners completed a short online test and their scores were added to the regional test results.

The top three competed in a one-day live final which took place at their own colleges on 29th September.

Platinum sponsor ADEY’s Colin Yearp, who helped judge the competition, said: “Well done to everyone involved. All three finalists have brought quality to the whole proceedings and it’s great to see the next generation performing under pressure.”

HIP Magazine’s Emily Hilton said: “A huge congratulations to Thomas on winning this year’s competition.

"Joseph and Harry also did such a good job in reaching this stage, especially as the format had to be changed, meaning there was another assessment-based round for all of the regional winners to try and qualify from.

“We can’t wait to see the next wave of future plumbing and heating engineers in next year’s competition!”

As a sponsor of the event we’re proud to support the apprentices entering the trade and congratulations to all of the finalists!

Entries are already open for the newly-named HIP Learner of the Year 2021, which will kick off in January as multiple competitors from each college compete to represent that college in the second exam-based round, before a live final in April.

For more information and details on how to enter, head to www.hip-magazine.co.uk/events.

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