Awards Ceremony Highlights Importance of Apprentices in the Plastics Industry

The winner of the 2016 Polymer Apprentice of the Year Award has been announced as Reece Connolly of BASF, Bradford; runner-up Robert Cummings of UCP Zeller, Norwich and Highly Commended Kane Bentley of AMARAY, Corby. The winner and runner up were presented their awards at the Master Certificate Awards Ceremony at the Merchant Taylors Hall in the City of London by the Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Dr Andrew Parmley and the Master Horner, Mrs Alison Gill.

At the event, the Lord Mayor of London and the Masters of several city livery companies gathered to present Master, Journeyman and Apprentice certificates, which recognise ​career progression and excellence in various skills associated with each livery company.

                                                                                                                              Reece Connolly receiving his prize from the Master Horner, Mrs Alison Gill                      
The British Plastics Federation (BPF) and the Worshipful Company of Horners (WCoH) — which jointly run the award — were pleased to identify and celebrate two exceptional apprentices in the polymer industry. Director-General of the BPF, Philip Law, commented:     

“It brings me great pleasure to see exceptional contributors to our industry given the recognition they deserve — and I am certain the apprentices will enjoy long, rewarding careers in the plastics industry if they continue

along this path. I would like to congratulate both Reece Connolly and Robert Cummings, who are both outstanding apprentices and worthy recipients of their respective awards.”

This year, due to the high calibre of both candidates, the judges determined each were worthy of receiving the Polymer Apprentice certificate. The winner, Reece Connolly, demonstrated considerable personal initiative in his work and was part of a team that developed a new plant performance display system, while the runner-up, Robert Cummings, demonstrated an outstanding level of commitment during his apprenticeship, and now mentors current apprentices.

The award also recognised Kane Bentley of Amaray, who received a ‘highly commended’ certificate for the quality of his work as an apprentice.

Co-running the Polymer Apprentice of the Year Award complements the BPF’s other activities that aim to encourage more talented, young people into the industry, such as its Polymer Ambassador Scheme and PolymerZone — an online resource for school teachers. Additionally, the Horners’ led Polymer Study Tours provide another route to raise awareness of the industry amongst teachers.

For more information on the award visit: www.hornersaward.co.uk

For information on the BPF’s education initiatives visit: www.polymerzone.co.uk

For information on Polymer Study Tours visit: www.polymerstudytours.co.uk

ENDS

For further information on education and skills issues and the BPF’s activities, please contact Matt Davies at [email protected] or on +44(0) 207 457 5048.

For all media enquiries, BPF logos and images please contact [email protected] 

Notes for editors:
The British Plastics federation (BPF) is the UK trade association for the plastics industry – representing the whole supply chain including polymer producers, distributors, additives suppliers, machinery manufacturers, processors and recyclers.