Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 34

Plastics industry awards 2019

apprentice or trainee of the year

apprenticeship builds experience

(From left) Richard Hird, chairman of the PMMDA, Jake Hollins, Neil Moseley,
regional manager (UK & Ireland) at Meusburger, and Shaun Williamson

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" t was a great confidence booster, knowing that the company had acknowledged
my achievements and put me forward
for an industry-recognised award. Finding out I had been shortlisted - and then
winning! - was overwhelming but amazing
feeling."
This, from Jake Hollins, who took the
2019 PIA trophy for Apprentice or Trainee
of the Year.
The judges noted that this year's entries were all particularly strong, with
the entries including many deserving
candidates. But Hollins' drive to find a
new company where he could finish his
apprenticeship after being made redundant struck a nerve with those who read
his story.
Now, he reports that he could not be
happier: "The apprentice programme at
UCP Zeller Plastik is like no other. They
really promote working as part of a team,
this is backed up with team building; even
a week in the Lake District with the Outward Bound Trust."
Hollins goes on to explain that RPC
UCP Zeller is continuing to invest in their
apprentices, with a variety of training
courses combined with one-to-one mentoring.
"The experience I have gained at UCP
has put me in a great position to progress.
This complemented with the HND in engineering that the company is funding
will set me up. The programme has also
allowed me to develop from a personal
point of view, it has given me confidence

and taught me how approach day-to-day
challenges," Hollins said.
Key to the success of the company's
apprentice programme is the all-in approach. Hollins said that there's no sense
of hierarchy within the different departments and all employees are happy to
help with training the apprentices.
That mentoring sets up apprentices
to gain a wealth of different of experiences and to learn different skill sets. These
come from all aspects of the business,
which helps give a rounded appreciation
for plastics engineering.
In addition to the PIA award, the winner of this year's trophy also took home
a £500 cheque, courtesy of the Polymer
Machinery Manufacturers & Distributors
Association (PMMDA).
Asked what he plans to do with his
prize, Hollins replied: "I am leaning towards spending it on a family holiday, or I
might spend the money on my car to help
me get to work."
In closing, Hollins says that the trophy is being displayed in the apprentice
cabinet at the UCP office, located on the
main walkway into the factory. His win
has also been covered by the local Norwich media and in the company's group
publication.
He hopes that the award will serve
him well as he moves forward with his career: "I can only imagine that winning the
award will be viewed as a positive by my
current employer and any others in the
future," he said.
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