McInnes is top Scottish apprentice
UK: Joss McInnes of Ayrshire-based contractor Blue Refrigeration has been named Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Apprentice of the Year at the Scottish HVACR Awards for Outstanding Achievement.
Runner-up to Joss in the air conditioning and refrigeration category was Justin Cahill of Bouygues UK.
The awards, organised jointly by contractors’ association B&ES and its subsidiary Building Engineering Services Training (BEST) Scotland, were presented at a special a ceremony held at the headquarters of B&ES Scotland
Bruce Bisset, immediate past president of B&ES, said that the fact that that so many bright and talented young people should have chosen to come into building engineering services was testimony to the career opportunities offered by our sector.
“Our continuing duty, therefore, is to help them to fulfil their potential by harnessing their enthusiasm, and by nurturing their passion for the industry and its future development,” he said.
“These are testing times for all of us – but they are also exciting times, when we require high-calibre recruits more than ever before. Young people with fresh ideas, who understand the world we live in and how it will change in the future – and are eager for the challenges such change will inevitably present.”
Mr Bisset went on to remind his audience of the programme of modernisation to which the UK Government was committed – a programme that aimed to reduce both construction costs and carbon emissions by 20% in four years.
“Crucial to the achievement of these objectives is the widespread adoption of building information modelling technology – and the genuinely collaborative culture that lies at the heart of the so-called ‘BIM revolution’,” he insisted.
“Equally crucial is the engagement in the change agenda of some the best young minds of the new generation – as craftsmen, as technicians, as managers and as innovators.”
Other winners and runners-up were:
Pipe Fitter Welder Apprentice of the Year: Jordan Gilmour of James Frew, Stevenston, Ayrshire. Runner-up: Dylan McKirdy of Vaughan Engineering Services, Broxburn, West Lothian.
Pipe Fitter Apprentice of the Year: Gary Bickerton of Arthur Mackay Building Services, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Runner-up: Callum Edmond, also of Arthur Mackay Building Services.
Service and Maintenance Apprentice of the Year: James Dunbar of William Whitfield, Bellshill, Lanarkshire. Runner-up: Daniel Hart of Skanska Facilities Services, Motherwell, Lanarkshire.
