A former apprentice from Lincoln College is in line for a national award after beating off competition in the East Midlands region.

Lewis Roberts (23) won the Advanced Apprentice of the Year category at the East Midlands stage of the National Apprenticeship Awards last week.

He is now one of three finalists who are invited to The National Apprenticeship Awards ceremony on Thursday 13th November 2014 at the NEC in Birmingham.

Lewis now works as a full-time painter and decorator after completing his apprenticeship in Painting and Decorating in 2013.

“I am really looking forward to the awards in Birmingham next month, I didn’t think I’d get this far and it has been a bit of a surprise,” explained Lewis.

“It does give you a lot more confidence in yourself and it’s good to be recognised for all the hard work during the three years I was at Lincoln College. My apprenticeship has given me the chance to better myself and has given me a great start in my working life.”

Painting & Decorating Lecturer Paul Wilcockson said: “We’re really proud of Lewis’ achievements – reaching the finals in The National Apprenticeship Awards is a huge accomplishment.

“He started out as a shy first-year full-time student but has become a role model for students in colleges across the UK. He has been a pleasure to teach and has been a credit to himself, his family, his employer and Lincoln College through every step of his educational journey.”

Chief Executive Gary Headland added: “I was thrilled to hear that one of our students was awarded first place in The Advanced Apprentice Category of The National Apprenticeship Award. Many congratulations go to Lewis and the tutors.”

The East Midlands awards took place on 2nd September at the University of Nottingham.

As well as winning this award, Lewis was previously named Dulux Decorator Centres’ Apprentice of the Year and PDA Apprentice Paperhanger of the Year in 2013.

Ends

Notes to Editors:

About Lincoln College:
• Lincoln College is the largest educational institution in the county with 10,000 students across three campuses in Lincoln, Gainsborough and Newark.
• It is the largest provider of business training and skills in Lincolnshire providing training for around 1,200 businesses in Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire.
• The college is rated Outstanding by Ofsted and has a wide range of full, part-time and short courses for students aged 16 and above, including university-level courses.

About The Lincoln College Group:
• Founded upon a concept of ‘synergy’, the Lincoln College Group comprises a number of like-minded organisations with a shared purpose of providing exceptional education, training and related services to their students.
• Currently providing secondary, further and higher education, the Group includes Lincoln College (with its campuses in Lincoln, Newark and Gainsborough and operations in China) and two secondary school academies: The Newark Academy and The Gainsborough Academy. It also encompasses Deans Sport and Leisure, a commercial sports centre based in Lincoln City Centre.
• Lincoln College International, a project to develop and run three Colleges in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the latest addition to the Group.
• The Lincoln College Group is also the lead sponsor of the Lincoln UTC which opened in September 2014.

For further information about this release please contact:
Jez Ashberry
01522 528 540
jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk
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