Career Stories, News & Updates

Celebrating our local Manufacturing Talent!

Our outstanding local manufacturing and construction apprentices have been recognised for their skills and high standards demonstrated in their efforts and achievements at our Apprentice of the Year Awards ceremony held as part of Plymouth’s National Apprenticeship Week 2026.

The Awards were once again presented jointly by Plymouth Manufacturers’ Group (PMG) and Building Plymouth with nominations submitted by local advanced manufacturing and construction employers, from which nearly 60 talented apprentices who were celebrated as finalists at the ceremony held at Market Hall, Devonport.

Introducing the awards ceremony, Cllr Sally Cresswell, Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships at Plymouth City Council said: “It was fitting to hold this celebration in National Apprenticeship Week 2026 with the theme ‘Skills for Life,’ a good chance to reflect on how the opportunity to ‘earn while you learn’ can help both young people to start their career journey and adults to change career direction. These apprentice awards truly represent the very best of achievement in two of Plymouth’s high growth sectors: construction and the built environment, and advanced manufacturing and engineering. This important week and our inspiring annual Apprentice Awards celebration presents us with a great platform to shine a light on the amazing opportunities that an apprenticeship brings to employers, individuals and the economy. I thank all our local employers and training providers who continue to invest and support our apprentices. I am delighted to share a personal congratulations to everyone celebrated.”

At the awards ceremony, Finalist, Highly Commended and Winning apprentices were all celebrated for their success and commended for the high standards they have shown in their achievements and skills developed during their apprenticeships. The full list of Apprentices working in local Manufacturing companies who were recognised in the awards are detailed further below.

The PMG Apprentice of the Year Awards were again sponsored by Make UK, with Jim Davison, Make UK’s National Membership Director both judging and presenting the awards to the winners and finalists. Reflecting on the awards, Jim said: “Once again, our task as judges was particularly difficult such was the outstanding level and record number of nominations received. The dedication that these apprentices have towards their apprenticeships, their companies and their colleagues, is hugely reassuring for the continued strength of the UK’s vital manufacturing industry. While we shine a light and heartily congratulate the winners, we must loudly applaud all the finalists for their hard work and passion for our sector. It is always rewarding to support the PMG Apprentice of the Year Awards and celebrate our industry’s future talent in this way.”

The PMG’s awards covered Manufacturing and Engineering Rising Star and Final Year Apprentices of the Year and Business in Manufacturing Rising Star and Final Year Apprentices of the Year. Kieren O’Donnell who is an Industrial Engineering Apprentice at Alstom and training with Aston University was presented the 2026 Final Year Manufacturing Apprentice of the Year. Kieren said on receiving his award “I’m over the moon for winning this award, I want to say thank you very much to PMG. It is really good to see how as apprentices our hard work and efforts are being noticed by external people outside of our companies which brings us a lot of confidence that we are on the right track, doing the right thing especially with our mentors and supporters.”

His nominator Dave Gale, Lead Engineer at Alstom said of Kieren, “Myself and Kieren were both thrilled for him to have won the Final Year Apprentice category this year, and I believe this truly reflects the sheer amount of hard work that he has put into his apprenticeship over the last four years. It was wonderful to see so many talented apprentices at the award ceremony, which gives me great confidence that the future of manufacturing is bright and secure in the hands of these up-and-coming stars. Thank you once again to PMG for bringing us this event to celebrate the wonderful talent we have here in Plymouth.”

Kieren’s colleague Marcel Dybek also won the Rising Star Manufacturing Award 2026 which further delighted Dave who commented, “Marcel is truly delighted to have won this accolade, and to be honest he has worked extremely hard over the last two and a half years, so is well deserving. Thank you PMG for recognising his talents and the potential that he has for the future.”

This year, it was 2 joint winners from Babcock who were recognised as the Final Year Business in Manufacturing Award. Isabelle Land and Robert Parker who are both Higher Level Commercial Apprentices with City College Plymouth said of their win, “We are both extremely honoured and delighted to have been jointly awarded ‘Business Final Year Apprentice of the Year’ for 2026. We are so grateful that our efforts have been recognised not only by Babcock, but also by the Plymouth Manufacturing Group, who had the difficult task of selecting winners from such a wide range of talent across Plymouth. We are both very proud of this achievement and look forward to the doors this will open for our future careers.”

Lee Crocker, Managing Director and Chair of the Board at Kawasaki Precision Machinery and Chair of Plymouth Manufacturers’ Group said: “In manufacturing, there’s nothing more rewarding than watching apprentices grow — not just in skill, but in confidence. Our PMG Apprentice Awards are one of the ways we show them how much their hard work matters, and how committed we are to supporting their journey. Plymouth is proudly one of the UK’s top ten cities for the concentration of manufacturing employment, and our sector contributes a higher than UK average percentage to the local economy. This means our apprentices aren’t just gaining experience, they have a critical role in helping to shape a strong future for our city.

The career opportunities in manufacturing and engineering are exciting, diverse, and full of possibility. The apprentices of today, will be increasingly working with cutting‑edge technologies in AI, robotics and automation, or even exploring how to harness renewable energy and support a circular greener economy, all of which is driving our world forward. We are genuinely proud to have such brilliant talent within the PMG family. Congratulations to all our finalists and winners — we can’t wait to see where your bright futures take you.”

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Full listing of Finalist Apprentices recognised as Plymouth Manufacturers’ Group Apprentices of the Year 2026

PMG Rising Star Business Apprentice of the Year Winner:

  • Michael Bailey from The Cornwall Bakery – Samworth Brothers, undertaking a Level 5 Operations Manager Apprenticeship with Instep UK

PMG Rising Star Business Apprentice of the Year Highly Commended Runner Up:

  • Leon Cook, from Rittal CSM, a Level 4 Engineering Manufacturing Technician training with Cornwall College.

PMG Rising Star Business Apprentice of the Year Finalist:

  • Ayesha Conteh, a Level 3 Engineering Design and Draughtsperson Apprentice at Babcock and training with City College Plymouth,

PMG Rising Star Manufacturing Apprentice of the Year Winner

  • Marcel Dybek from Alstom who is an Industrial Engineering Apprentice training with Alstom and Aston University.

PMG Rising Star Manufacturing Apprentice of the Year Highly Commended Runners Up

  • Charlie Horswell from BD, a Level 3 Mechatronics Apprentice Production Technician training with Cornwall College.
  • Joseph Odin-Earnshaw from Princess Yachts, a Level 3 Marine Engineering Apprentice with City College Plymouth

 

PMG Rising Star Manufacturing Apprentice of the Year Finalists

  • Adam Foster from BD, a Level 3 Engineering (Mechatronics) Technician Apprentice with Cornwall College
  • Bailey Fribbens from Plessey, a Level 4 Lead Engineering Maintenance Technician, Cornwall College
  • Bertram Millard from Princess Yachts, a Level 3 Marine Engineering Apprentice with City College
  • Jack Fuery from Karsal Manufacuturing, a Level 2 Window and Door Fabrication Apprentice training with GFTS.
  • Katie Dilloway from Babcock, a Level 3 NDT Apprentice training with Lavenders international.
  • Matthew Ivo Paras from Sotek Engineering, a Machine Technician Apprentice with South Devon College.
  • Owen Stoneman from Rittal CSM, a Level 3 Model Shop Apprentice, training with City College Plymouth
  • Renee Breen from Babcock, a Level 4 Naval Architect Apprentice training with City College Plymouth
  • Ross Duffy from Composite Integration, a Level 4 Engineering Manufacturing Technician Apprentice with Cornwall College.
  • Ryan Minhinick from Karsal Manufacturing, a Level 2 Apprentice PVCu Window and Door Fabricator.
  • Sophia King from Collins Aerospace, a Level 4 Operations Engineering Apprentice with Cornwall College.
  • Tyler Prynn from Collins Aerospace, a Level 4 Operations Engineering Apprentice with Cornwall College.

 

PMG Final Year Business Apprentice of the Year Joint Winners:

  • Isabelle Land from Babcock, a Higher Level Business – Commercial Apprentice with City College Plymouth
  • Robert Parker from Babcock, also a Higher Level Business – Commercial Apprentice with City College Plymouth

 

PMG Manufacturing Final Year Apprentice of the Year Winner:

  • Kieren O’Donnell from Alstom, a Level 6 Industrial Engineering Apprentice with Aston University

PMG Manufacturing Final Year Apprentice of the Year Highly Commended Runner Up:

  • Ethan Jones from BD, an Apprentice Moulding Technician, training with Cornwall College.

PMG Manufacturing Final Year Apprentice of the Year Commended:

  • Lewis Wadlan from Rittal – CSM, a Level 2 Apprentice Welder, training with City College Plymouth.

PMG Manufacturing Final Year Apprentice of the Year Finalists:

  • Adam Baker from Babcock, a Level 3 NDT Apprentice training with Lavenders international
  • Dylan Gorrin from Sotek Engineering, a Machining Technician training with South Devon College
  • Nicholas Bevan from Plessey, a Level 4 Engineering Manufacturing Technician Apprentice training with City College Plymouth.
  • Summer Walker from Mars Wrigley, a Level 3 Food and Drink Technical Operator training with Bridgewater and Taunton college
  • Tom Sharpe from Babcock, a Level 3 Maritime Defence – Mechanical Fitter Apprentice training with City College Plymouth
  • William Burgess from Rail Signalling and Power, a Level 3 Installation Engineer Apprentice training with City College Plymouth
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