Tom Ashton receives Apprentice of the Year award from BEMA President Henry Smart
However, it become obvious very early on that the choice Tom made to follow a career in engineering was not fitting comfortably with him. He was nervous, concerned and went through a significant amount of soul searching as to whether to continue the program. To Tom’s credit, he followed his gut instinct and applied himself with great rigor, and whilst it proved difficult to him, persisted, and had the mental tenacity to start to gain results. His work during the foundation year improved week on week and not only did his skills set improve, he clearly started to feel that he had made the correct choice with staying in his chosen career path.
As the months rolled on, he not only started to shine regarding the practical aspects of the course, his contribution in the Foundation Knowledge group was noticed as being exemplary, gaining very good results in the assessments taken. By the end of the Foundation phase of his apprenticeship, Tom had established himself as a very competent apprentice, who never let a challenge overwhelm him, he became a very positive influence on the whole group, and quite rightly was awarded Apprentice of the Year at the annual awards evening.
When we assess progress, it is not always the person who is the most accomplished machinist or engineer, what shines is the journey made, and Tom clearly has completed a very remarkable one.
