ABP Humber apprentice and mentor win top prizes at HETA Awards
Ben Goodwin was named Apprentice of the Year at the HETA Awards, while James Daniels won Employer Mentor of the Year.
Associated British Ports is celebrating after one of its electrical apprentices and an in-house training mentor won top honours at the Humberside Engineering Training Association Awards.
Ben Goodwin, a second-year electrical apprentice at ABP, was named Apprentice of the Year at the HETA Awards.
He was nominated by his supervisor, James Daniels, who also won Employer Mentor of the Year.
Brad Crumbleholme, Head of Engineering for the Humber at ABP, said the awards were a “fantastic reflection” of the strength of the company’s engineering team.
He said: “To see Ben recognised as Apprentice of the Year shows the calibre of emerging talent we are developing across the business.
“The Employer Mentor of the Year award received by James highlights the commitment of our people to investing time, expertise and care in developing the next generation of talent.
“Together they demonstrate how seriously we take skills, mentoring and succession planning.
“Developing our people is so critical to maintaining safe, resilient and high-performing ports now and for the future.
“I’m proud that this is the second year in succession ABP apprentices have won the award.”
Ben has been with ABP for around a year and a half after joining from college.
He has been working across the Port of Immingham on mechanical engineering projects.
As part of his apprenticeship, he writes assessments and technical reports, as well as completing practical assessments.
Ben said: “I was very surprised to be nominated but it’s great to be recognised and appreciated in the role, that means a lot to me.
“During my time at HETA in my electrical class there are 20 of us working towards a maintenance role.
“I learnt about ABP from friends and family as I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do when I left school.
“I love the job as you never get bored, there’s always something to learn and so much variety of plant and kit.”
James Daniels, a former apprentice himself, was named Employer Mentor of the Year after being nominated by his manager, John Huby.
James manages the mechanical apprentices at ABP and has recently completed a round of interviews for the next intake of apprentices, with hundreds of young people applying.
He said Ben’s attitude is exemplary, adding that he undertakes tasks safely and displays strong confidence.
James said: “We all treat apprentices with the same passion as they are the future of our trade.
“They’re close to our hearts and it’s about passing our knowledge on.
“At any one time we can have up to 24 on the programme.
“It’s important we have enthusiastic people like Ben who have the passion, then subsequently the knowledge to carry on the maintenance of the cranes, plus the confidence to go and do the job.”
During the recruitment process, James said ABP looks for young people who are passionate, have a safety mindset and show a genuine interest in the trade.
He said skills can be taught, but enthusiasm and a desire to be on the job need to shine through.
ABP offers a four-year apprenticeship programme where people can work as an Electrical Engineer or Maintenance and Engineering Technician, while studying towards a Level 3 Apprenticeship.
The company says its apprentices earn while they learn, with the opportunity to train with the UK’s leading ports operator.
More information about ABP apprenticeships is available at careers.abports.co.uk/content/Apprentice.