Motor Vehicle apprentice wins SATRO award

A Nescot student won an award celebrating excellence in Science, Technology and Engineering and Maths (STEM) at a ceremony in Woking on Wednesday (September 26).

Alex Galloway, who studies Light Vehicle Maintenance and works at Hendy Ford in Redhill, won Outstanding STEM Apprentice at the annual SATRO awards held at the WWF Living Planet Centre.

“When I found out I’d won the award I was really glad, and my parents were really proud,” said Alex.

“I work really hard at college and at my job, and I always try to do the best I can. I’m really enjoying the course, and to win an award as well is great.”

Alex said he has been interested in motor vehicles since he started helping his dad fix cars as a child, and wants to follow his father’s footsteps by being a mechanic.

He decided to do an apprenticeship so he could earn while he learns. He started as a Level 2 student and is now a Level 3 apprentice, and aims to become a Ford technician.

“The apprenticeship is really practical, and that suits me because I prefer working with my hands,” Alex added. “I chose Nescot because it has great facilities, and the teachers are really experienced.”

Georgie Betts-Scripps, Alex’s assessor at Nescot, nominated him for the award because of his commitment, enthusiasm, technical skills and positive attitude.

“Alex is a model apprentice,” she said. “He uses what he learns at college in practice every day at work, and then he also brings his experience from work back into college to help the other students.

“He takes his learning seriously, and even though his skills are excellent he is always pushing himself to keep moving forward and to do even better.”

Dan Cole, the Service Manager at Hendy Ford, described Alex as ‘outstanding’, and praised his level of 'capability and competency'. He said: “I can trust him to complete the work required with very little assistance.”

Frances Rutter, CEO and Principal of Nescot, said: “We’re very proud of what Alex has achieved, and we’re glad his hard work and success has been recognised with this award.”

SATRO is an educational charity and social enterprise based in Surrey which promotes STEM subjects to young people as well as running the annual awards.

The awards include categories for apprentices and full-time students, as well as volunteers, mentors and colleges.

Nescot has a long history of success at the awards, including winning the Wates Cup, the prize given to the overall winner, for five consecutive years.

An apprenticeship enables anyone aged 16 or over to learn a profession by combining knowledge and skills in the classroom with practical experience gained at work.

Apprenticeships at Nescot range from Construction to Business and Management. To find out more about how an apprenticeship could work for you, or how an apprentice could benefit your company, visit one of our open events or contact the Employer Hub.