PETA Young Person of the Year 2019 announced #BlazeATrail

Management apprentice Louise Gandar has been crowned the Alex Zemenides Young Person of the Year 2019 at PETA’s annual awards ceremony.

Louise, who works for Eaton Corporation was picked from four category winners to achieve the prestigious accolade. The other three category winners were engineering apprentice Rebecca Bovingdon from Safran Helicopter Engines UK, IT apprentice Billy Hunt from The Cowplain School and business apprentice Fabiha Hussain from Glidefern Property Management.

Louise was chosen from over 400 possible applicants and presented with the award at the ceremony on Tuesday 5 March. Apprentices can put themselves forward for the awards by submitting an entry that outlines a bit about themselves and their role, why they feel they should win the award, what they’ve contributed to their company and what their personal and business achievements are.  

Also included in the entry will be an endorsement from the apprentice’s sponsoring employer, detailing why the apprentice should be nominated. The PETA trainer who worked with the apprentice will supply a supporting statement.

The awards were judged by PETA’s CEO Huw Chapman, Senior Corporate Services Manager Dawn Halfacre and Government Funded Programmes Manager Gavin Smith. They reviewed all of the entries, awarding points by considering elements such as the effort the apprentice has put into their learning, how far they’ve come, their level of commitment and what challenges they’ve had to overcome.

Alex Zemenides founded PETA Training in 1970 and a remains an important figure in the PETA story.

The awards were presented by Mushy Asghar, the first motivational speaker with a stammer. Category winners received a certificate and trophy and the overall winner also received a certificate, trophy and £150 Amazon voucher.

Huw Chapman said: “The standard was very high this year, with individuals demonstrating great educational outcomes and a positive work ethic. We were delighted to hear that all the companies who had apprentices at the award ceremony recognised that PETA are delivering good training, which links directly to preparing people for successful employment. Congratulations to all the apprentices; they have all demonstrated outstanding performance. Their success is clearly linked to their supportive employers as well as the dedication of the PETA team.”  

It is vital to recognise the importance and value apprenticeships bring to business and the local economy. Many of our customers today are apprentices of yesterday, with some being Directors of very successful businesses. They know the work and dedication that goes into developing the talent essential to replenishing skills for business. This award is just one way of formally saying ‘well done’ and meaning it.

Apprenticeships continue to demonstrate how young people can truly excel under the guidance of a great employer and with the support of a quality training programme.  

The success of our apprenticeship programmes is down to the partnership developed between the employer, the learner and PETA, built on strong communication, collaboration, support, mentoring and coaching that is extended throughout the learner journey.  We have over 400 apprentices working with local businesses each year, which is testament to the value of the apprenticeship approach to business and to young people as they develop their career.

About PETA Training and Consultancy Services: Are a training provider based in Cosham, Portsmouth, who specialise in providing apprenticeship training programmes, consultancy services and almost 200 corporate courses in areas such as management, ICT, health and safety, engineering, customer services and HR.