Ellen Lodge, pictured above, and Ashford Borough Council are celebrating after former electrical apprentice, Ellen, won the JTL National Apprentice of the Year Award 2020.
As the first female winner in the 30 years of the scheme, Ellen Lodge (nee O’Connor), who was married shortly after winning her regional award last year, now lectures at Dover Technical College teaching electrical apprentices.
“I’m absolutely honoured to win this award and am extremely grateful for the encouragement and support I’ve received from my JTL tutors and training officer and my employer Ashford Borough Council. Serving my apprenticeship at the council was a great kick-start to my career and was an amazing environment for me to learn my trade.
“I have now moved on to teach apprentices taking the same course I did, I thoroughly enjoy my job as a lecturer and hope I can continue to inspire and enable young people to learn a trade”.
Ellen Lodge
Paul Brooker, ABC Electrical Services manager, said everyone at the council was delighted to hear that one of their former apprentices had won such a great honour.
“Ellen was a great asset to us. She was hard working and dedicated, keen to learn and hugely popular with colleagues and customers alike. Ellen is a real inspiration to others who are following her into the industry.
“One of the things that sets ABC Electrical Services apart from other firms is our commitment to provide career opportunities for local youngsters. We pledge to take on three JTL apprentices and a number have already gone on to fully qualify as electricians, including Ellen.”
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JTL is the leading training provider for electrical and heating and plumbing apprenticeships. After being crowned Electrical Apprentice of the Year for the South East at JTL’s regional awards in March last year, Ellen qualified for the national final, competing against eight regional winners.
Ellen and the other finalists were interviewed via an online platform by JTL’s chief executive Jon Graham, and national delivery director Judi Wheeler. Ellen was was declared the overall winner and received an engraved glass trophy and £1,000 cheque from JTL.
Jon Graham said: “Our awards are an opportunity to recognise the excellence of our top apprentices. Ellen is extremely deserving of the award, not only because of the merits and distinctions she has consistently gained in all her exams, but because of her enthusiastic work ethic and dedication to helping classmates. She is a shining example of why females should have a higher representation within the industry and is an ambassador for herself and her employer.”
JTL delivers high-quality learning across 100 centres throughout England and Wales, and works with over 3,800 businesses with around 8,000 apprentices in learning. Visit www.jtltraining.com