We are delighted to announced that one of our apprentices, Emily Wright, has won the prestigious Industrial & Commercial Heating Equipment Association ICOM Apprentice of the Year Award 2024. This is the second consecutive year the award has been handed to an Ideal Heating apprentice.
Emily is currently three years in to an Engineering Design and Draughtsperson Apprenticeship Standard (NVQ), which she is undertaking alongside a Higher National Certificate (HNC) Level 4 in Mechanical Engineering.
Women in engineering
Like many young people, especially women, engineering had never been put forward as a career option for Emily at school. Ironically, deferring university for a year and taking a job as a PE Teaching Assistant in a secondary school, the school’s career advisor introduced her to the idea of working in engineering. “Engineering had never been a suggested option to me” says Emily, “and I had no idea how broad the industry was. After researching into different engineering job roles and the variety of engineering fields, I developed an interest in the innovative and ever-evolving nature of Design Engineering.”
Rising to the challenge
Emily makes no bones about the challenges involved: “With completing my apprenticeship qualification and completing work for Ideal Heating, it’s intense - managing deadlines and balancing the workload can be challenging. But I am able to effectively manage my own workload and my managers trust me to set my own deadlines with the confidence that I will deliver on-time.”
An engineering star in the making
Commenting on Emily’s award win, Ideal Heating Senior Design Engineer Chris Roberts said: “Emily thoroughly deserves this award not only due to her work ethic and her inquisitive attitude towards engineering and learning, but she has been a true pleasure to mentor. I have never had to chase Emily for any work deadlines, and she listens with open ears and an open mind.
“Having not come from an engineering background she has worked very hard to learn her craft and has grown, not only as a Design Engineer, but also as a person. I have always pushed her boundaries of learning and fears, she has responded to this by stepping up to the challenges set and exceeding them.
As part of her learning experience Emily has spent time in other departments within the business from procurement, engineering changes and industrial engineering. Emily has thrived in each department with many compliments following her as she leaves. She is now using knowledge gained in these areas in her everyday work and passing some of this knowledge on to her colleagues. Emily has become an integral part of the Design team and will be able utilise her skills in both the combustion and heat pump sides of the business.”
Congratulations Emily and we look forward to seeing your next design engineering ideas!
