Hewden, the UK’s largest plant-hirer, last week saw its eleven final-year apprentices graduate from the Hewden Apprenticeship Programme. Held at the new Finning Academy in Cannock, the ceremony was the culmination of a four-year training programme earning the apprentices an NVQ in Plant Mechanics, and the title of qualified Service Engineer.

Hewden currently has 70 apprentices across the business at various stages of their development programme. As part of the programme, apprentices are required to attend national construction college on a block release basis, with the remaining time spent working within one of Hewden’s 102 locations across the UK to gain the practical skills and knowledge required to graduate as a fully qualified service engineer.

Christine Hardy, Training Development and Manager at Finning UK, said, "Our Service Engineers are critical to the success of our business now and in the future, and I’m delighted to see such a talented group of people progressing through our company"

Hardy continues, "Our apprentices have worked hard over the past four years, successfully completing their college work together with managing their on-the-job commitments, and should be justifiably proud of their achievements"

The ceremony also included the Apprentice of the Year award, an accolade given to the one apprentice who clearly excelled throughout the four-year programme. This year’s award was given to Mark McLeod from the Edinburgh Cranes depot, nominated by depot manager Jimmy Donnachie.

Jimmy Donnachie commented, "I can confidently say that Mark is the best apprentice I’ve had for the last 10 years – there are not many like him. He is a great ambassador for the scheme and an exceptional role model for other apprentices entering the industry."

Of the eleven graduates, five were from the Scotland region, four were from the North, one was from the Central region and one was from the South region.