Apprentices celebrate success

Newly qualified electricians celebrated their success at an awards evening after they successfully completed Advanced Apprenticeships in electrical installation. 

Twenty-three Clarkson Evans electricians were presented with certificates at Hatherley Manor Hotel in Gloucester.  The special guest for the evening was Persimmon Homes’ divisional chief executive Nigel Greenaway.

Clarkson Evans’ managing director Steve Evans voiced his pride of the company’s track record of training young people and led the celebrations: “Inviting each former apprentice to the stage and witnessing them enjoying their moment in the spotlight made me feel very proud of what they’ve achieved and delighted that we’ve been able to help them get there. We don’t see ourselves as just teaching apprentices a trade. To us, it’s much more than that – we give them the opportunity to make something of their lives by progressing long-term careers with the company”, said Evans.

Amongst the electricians collecting their certificates was Gloucester-based Alex Shirra, who faced the biggest challenge of all during his apprenticeship.  In 2011, just months into his training, Shirra was involved in a very serious car accident that left him fighting for his life.  After being in a coma for 12 days and spending 14 weeks in hospital to recover from collapsed lungs, a fractured collar bone, shattered knee cap and two broken legs, no-one thought he would recover enough to complete his apprenticeship but he proved everyone wrong.  Not surprisingly he received the biggest round of applause at the awards ceremony.