Former plasterer is top fridge apprentice
UK: A former plasterer who took the decision to switch professions has been named Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Apprentice of the Year by contractors’ body BESA.
John Thompson, an apprentice at Turner (Dundee) Ltd, worked as a time-served plasterer for 15 years before taking the decision to retrain as a refrigeration engineer.
As part of his apprenticeship John gained an SVQ in Install, Commission and Maintain Refrigeration Systems at Glasgow Kelvin College. The College’s former apprentice of the year, he also won the Bronze medal in the national SkillFridge competition 2016.
John received his award during the Association’s awards dinner, which took place following the Building and Engineering Services Association’s national conference in London last week. He reached this year’s final by winning the regional heat of BESA’s Scotland Training Awards.
More than 20 BESA Awards for excellence were presented at the awards dinner, including the national apprentice of the year accolade, which went to Lewis Buchanan of Hargreaves Ductwork.
