
22-year-old Zak Gates was awarded National Apprentice of the Year by JTL
Zak, from Burton-upon-Trent, was named JTL’s National Apprentice of the Year 2014/15 at the training provider’s most recent annual awards. Zak completed his apprenticeship with Staffordshire-based electrical engineering and contracting company, IC Electrical.
Having proved himself to be an excellent apprentice, Zak passed all his City and Guilds electrical exams with distinction at Loughborough College and is currently working towards a higher national diploma in electrical and electronic engineering, sponsored by his employer. Zak has gained experience managing large industrial projects within the bio-energy and process industries.
Zak is now a project engineer and a highly valued member of the project team at IC Electrical. He said: “I feel privileged to have won this award, it was a great achievement. Like all the finalists at the event, I was secretly hoping I would win, but the announcement took me by surprise.”
Managing director of IC Electrical Ltd, Chris Emmerson, said: “We were confident [Zak] would win. He was an exceptional apprentice, who progressed quickly and is now managing projects, budgets, staff and profit targets. We’re hopeful that Zak will continue to develop and grow within the company—the current senior management team isn’t getting any younger and we bring apprentices through the company specifically to fill our shoes. Zak is an excellent example of how a young self-starter can achieve great things in a relatively short period of time, thanks to hard work and a positive attitude.”