KHT gas engineer named Construction Apprentice of the Year

An apprentice gas engineer at Knowsley Housing Trust (KHT) has been named the Construction Apprentice of the Year at the North West Training Apprentice Awards.

Dave Coogan, 22, from Kirkby, has been at KHT for the past four years training in gas installation and maintenance.

He received his award – presented by NWTC – at an awards ceremony at Aintree racecourse.
He said: “It was fantastic to win and it just motivates me to keep striving for my goals.”

As part of the judging process, Coogan and 17 other finalists travelled to Cologne in Germany earlier this year on an industrial tour to gain an insight into what the construction and engineering industries are like there.

He had to produce two reports which helped the judges choose the winner, the first about his apprenticeship so far, the second about what he had learned from the trip to Cologne.

Coogan noted in his report that 30 per cent of German school leavers go on to apprenticeships, compared to around 15 per cent in the UK.

He said: “When I left sixth form I was considering university but I wanted something more hands on.

“KHT is very supportive of my studies and where I want to go in my career, and sponsored my trip to Germany.”

He gained A Levels in Business, IT, and Finance at All Saints Catholic Centre for Learning in Kirkby. He then decided to pursue a trade and applied to KHT, where his dad has also worked for 30 years.

During his time at KHT he has gained Level 2 & 3 NVQs in gas installation and maintenance. He is now studying in the evenings alongside his full-time job for a HND in business and management, and hopes to complete a degree.

He added: “The apprenticeship has definitely worked for me. If I’d gone to university I would have been in debt with no guarantee of a job at the end of it. Now I’m employed, I’ve got a trade and I’m still working towards a degree.”

In 2008 he won the First Year Progress award from the North West Training Council, which funds his apprenticeship, and in 2010 he won the Final Year Apprentice Progress award and the NW Training Council’s Triumph Trophy.

Last year he was a finalist for the Apprentice of the Year award with the NW Training Council and was also nominated as Apprentice of the Year in Knowsley Council’s Business Awards. More recently Dave was the winner of the 2011 Direct Works Forum Apprentice of the Year.

His apprenticeship came to an end in August and he is now on a temporary contract working for KHT as a full-time gas engineer, which he hopes will lead to a permanent job.

Russell Thompson, executive director of maintenance services at KHT, said: “Dave has a fantastic attitude and ambition and is always pushing himself to be the best he can be.

“He is a great example of a successful apprenticeship and really deserves this recognition.”