AN apprentice from Bordon has been given an award in the South East category of the National Apprenticeship Awards.

Tom Schwenke, a Farnborough College of Technology apprentice at Philips Lighting, was nominated, by his assessor Alex Ierardi, for the award due to his “outstanding work” during his apprenticeship at the lighting company.

Philips Lighting specialises in connected lighting, with its services ranging from home lighting to projects such as lighting stadiums, all using LED technology.

Mr Schwenke received his award at the National Apprenticeship Awards ceremony held at St Paul’s Aldersgate Conference Centre.

The National Apprenticeship Awards search annually for apprentices who have made a real difference to the organisation they work in by exceeding expectations and delivering measurable benefits to their companies.

An apprentice may have introduced a new idea or initiative, improved procedures and systems or made an important contribution to the development of a product or special project.

When his assessor nominated him for the award, Mr Schwenke completed an application, explaining how his apprenticeship had helped him into employment and the impact of his work at Philips Lighting.

“Rising university fees put me off applying for a degree in the short term, but I saw a growing demand for young professionals in the workplace so an apprenticeship seemed an ideal situation,” Mr Schwenke said.

“My current role is within the lighting-application specialists and our role is to put together lighting proposals using lighting schematics to show clients the final locations of fittings and 3D renders to show the effect of the lighting. I currently sit in a leading design role for projects ranging from £5,000 to £200,000.

“I have really enjoyed my time as an apprentice with Philips Lighting, and choosing an apprenticeship is the best decision I have made for my career. Throughout my time at Philips I have contributed greatly to the success of my team - one of my key successes was the extensive work carried out on Unite Students accommodation project which included eight months of complicated design work, which accumulated £1.5million of Philips products and services being sold.

“I’m currently working as a technical-design apprentice, but I have just received a full-time offer of employment from Philips Lighting. I’m very proud of my achievement, and am looking forward to the next step in my career.” Apprenticeship assessor Mr Ierardi said: “Tom is a brilliant apprentice who is always focussed on doing well in his position, and excelling within the company. We’ve been so proud of the work that he has done, and this award is testament to Tom’s achievements as an apprentice. I’m looking forward to following his career, and seeing what he does next.”

* For more information about apprenticeships, visit farn-ct.ac.uk/myapprenticeship (Farnborough College of Technology); bcot.ac.uk/bordonfsc (Basingstoke College of Technology and the Future Skills Centre, Bordon); whitehillbordon.com/future-skills-centre/ (Future Skills Centre, Bordon), and easthants.gov.uk/apprenticeships.