Tom Clegg from Pendennis has been awarded winner of the Queens Silver Medal by the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights as the Shipyard Apprentice of the Year 2010. This is one of the country’s most prestigious apprentice awards and has been presented to representatives from the ship building industry since 1945.
Annual nominations for the Queens Silver Medal come from every yard in the UK with assessment taking place during several stages. Entrants are shortlisted to participate in a week long course and evaluation in Northumberland, following which six are selected for interview by the committee in London before the awards are announced.
Pendennis Apprentice Tom Clegg - Photo Credit Pendennis
“The course in Northumberland was extremely demanding” explains Tom. “We were presented with a wide range of challenges, aimed at testing our leadership and teamwork skills as well as individual capabilities. The tasks ranged from physical trials such as overnight hikes and raft building, to ones which tested our endurance and mental capabilities. For instance we had to guard a flag throughout the night on one occasion, and on another morning we were subjected to interviews at 4am. Although it was a tough week it provided a unique opportunity to develop new skills and gain confidence in dealing with challenging situations.” Tom, who graduated from the apprenticeship scheme in September, is now employed as an engineer at Pendennis and currently working on the winter refit of sailing yacht Adela.
Jill Carr, head of the Pendennis General Apprenticeship scheme, told us “It is representative of the high standard of our course that four apprentices were selected to be part of the initial assessment in Northumberland – only sixteen apprentices from throughout the UK were invited to attend this week. We are extremely proud of Tom’s achievement as the winner of this historic award.”
Tom completed his apprenticeship in conjunction with Cornwall College: “Tom was always incredibly hard working and committed throughout his apprenticeship. I’m delighted for him that his efforts have been recognised by this prestigious award and wish him all the best in his career with Pendennis Shipyard.” said Vaughn Curnow, Liaison Officer from Cornwall College Business who worked with Tom throughout his studies.
The General Apprentice Scheme at Pendennis has a formidable reputation with several awards gained over the past few years, including ‘Winner of the Year’ in the National Training Awards in 2009. The scheme continues to gain recognition not only due to the dedication and organisation of the apprentice management team, but also because of the high standards and hard work of the young people on the course. At the recent Faculty of Technology Awards at Cornwall College the following awards were presented: Matt Angove was awarded “Student of the Year” in Level 2 Engineering; Sam Proud was presented with “Most Improved Student” in Level 2 Electrical; Andrew Heard was named the “Most Improved Student” in Level 3 Electrical and Dan Buckland was given the “Endeavour Award” in Level 3 Engineering.
Further information:
There are two apprenticeship schemes running at Pendennis. The General Apprenticeship Scheme has an intake every 2 years in August and provides experience and qualifications throughout the company. The Surface Finishing Scheme is a specialist three year course consisting of on the job training combined with classroom sessions enabling the apprentices to achieve the perfect surface finish on our new build and refit projects. Pendennis have also begun a ‘Post Apprenticeship’ course aimed at fast tracking apprentices with management potential. In 2008 Pendennis was awarded LSC Large Employer of the Year Award in national recognition of the success of the scheme, and in 2009 Pendennis was awarded ‘Winner of the Year’ in the National Training Awards. Full information about all of these schemes can be found at www.pendennis.com.
Pendennis has one of the world’s leading custom superyacht build and refit facilities. Building on hundreds of years of local maritime heritage, Pendennis has become one of Cornwall’s most important employers – with 350 highly skilled trades people based at their 6.5 acre prime water front location in Falmouth, UK. Recent infrastructure developments at the yard have seen their outer 75m dry dock completely enclosed and the addition of a 55m (L) x 17m (H) x 16m (W) covered tented space on hard standing in the centre of the yard. Both bring additional flexible undercover space for Pendennis to develop both new build and refit contracts. The current projects at Pendennis are:
o New builds – Barracuda 105 Sloop, Ron Holland 150’ S/Y Christopher
o Refits – Classic sailing schooner Adela , sailing yacht Andromda La Dea, MY Dardanella, motor yacht Audacia
o Completion – 44m catamaran HEMISPHERE
Queen’s Silver Medal:
His Majesty King George VI, Permanent Master of the Shipwrights’ Company, in 1944 instituted a Silver Medal to be awarded to the Shipyard Apprentice of the Year. Kenneth Wood was the first winner of the medal and the Company was charged with the administration of the competition. This it has been doing ever since, and in 1978 it added a Bronze Medal for the runner-up, and in 1998 another Bronze Medal for the best craftsman, in memory of the late Derek Kimber OBE, Prime Warden, and a noted shipbuilder with a particular interest in apprentice training.
Today the scheme is run each year by calling for nominations from every known yard in the United Kingdom. The best are then selected by the Company to undertake a week’s course and evaluation at Hawkhirst on Keilder Water in Northumberland in September. The Directors of the course shortlist four or five to attend the Education and Charities Committee for interview in early December at the end of which the winners are announced.
