Industry wins at Trainee of the Year awards

UK: Jay Sheffield of Arctic Circle and Ben Moulson of Adcocks were the big winners at this year’s ACR Trainee of the Year Awards at the Belfry.

Attended by 200 representatives from the air conditioning and refrigeration industry, this long-established pre-Christmas event took a break from tradition this year by presenting separate awards for On the Tools and Off the Tools trainees.

Ben Moulson stood out as a model worker according to the judges, who had no qualms in naming him as On the Tools winner. An apprentice at Adcock Refrigeration and Air Conditioning since 2011, he is a student at Thetford-based Coolink Technical Training. In addition to a £1000 cheque from Dean & Wood, Ben received an LG Smart tv, £200 tool voucher, a Pump House tool kit and student membership of the Institute of Refrigeration.

Jay Sheffield of Arctic Circle, who, according to the judges, demonstrated a level of knowledge higher than one would expect of a trainee, was named as Off the Tools winner. Jay also received a £1000 cheque from Dean & Wood along with an LG Smart tv, Waterman pen, Pump House tool kit and student membership of the Institute of Refrigeration.

Joe Conroy of Trane was highly commended in the On the Tools category. He studies at Eastleigh College. Julie Pringle of Mitsubishi Electric, a student of Ellis Training was highly commended in the Off the Tools category. Both won a number of prizes including cheques for £500, an LG G-Pad and Pump House tool kits.

Special recognitions in the Off the Tools and On the Tools categories went to David Ball of Air Creation, a student at the ChillAir Academy, and Nathan Ormson of Toshiba Air Conditioning, respectively. They each won a cheque for £250 and a Pump House tool kit.