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NIKKEN triumph with second Apprentice of the Year Award
NIKKEN Kosakusho Europe Ltd are proud to announce the outstanding achievement of one of our next generation of talented Engineers, Kirbi Taylor.
Kirbi was crowned winner of Rotherham Apprentice of the Year Award for the Intermediate category, beating off competition from over 50 applicants from a variety of industries. In addition to this award, Kirbi is also shortlisted as a finalist in the University of Sheffield AMRC Training Centre’s Apprentice of the Year awards and has already won the centre’s Spotlight award for the best in cohort last year.
With a lifelong curiosity in engineering and inspired by her Grandfather’s previous success in the industry, Kirbi decided to pursue her career in engineering by undertaking an Apprenticeship in mechatronic maintenance with NIKKEN and the AMRC Training Centre, which is part of the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC).
The award was presented in recognition of her exceptional contribution and commitment to NIKKEN, by a panel of judges from within the Barnsley and Rotherham business sector. The judges concluded:
Her focus and passion for her apprenticeship and the company she works for came through loud and clear. She is very focused and determined and has a mature approach. She sees the bigger picture of how the whole organisation functions and how she can impact the business by being flexible and working in other departments. Her journey to gain her apprenticeship has not been an easy one, but through sheer grit and determination she gained a place at NIKKEN. Through her hard work and passion, she is making a difference and an impact in the organisation.
With several AMRC Training Centre apprentices already successfully placed throughout the business, in a variety of departments ranging from Technical to Service and Machining, the Apprentice of the Year Award is not the first time NIKKEN have seen success through their apprentices, having already won the award in 2015 with Service Engineer, Jonny Watson.
Kirbi’s passion and commitment at NIKKEN has not gone unnoticed with Service Manager, Mark Timmons, commenting;
Kirbi’s a breath of fresh air; friendly, confident and greets everyone with a smile. She is eager to learn and get involved with as many areas of the business as possible. We have 3 apprentices in the Service Department who have all excelled in their careers. They are fundamental to the future of NIKKEN and engineering. I look forward to watching Kirbi, and our other Apprentices, careers develop as they take on more responsibilities and challenges.
NIKKEN are strong advocates of apprentices and committed to allowing local young people a chance to develop a career and contribute to the future of engineering.
Director at the AMRC Training Centre, Nikki Jones, said Kirbi is a talented apprentice and a deserving winner.
It comes as no surprise to us that Kirbi has received recognition for her efforts and achievements as an apprentice engineer. Since joining the AMRC Training Centre with NIKKEN, she has shown true dedication and commitment to the engineering apprenticeship programme and has seized every opportunity presented to her with passion and vigour. She is incredibly ambitious and we’re in no doubt she has a very bright and rewarding future ahead of her. The AMRC Training Centre has enjoyed a proud and long-established relationship with NIKKEN since founding in 2013 which continues to produce valued, highly-skilled apprentices year-on-year across several different skills set. Kirbi’s achievement is a continuation of that extremely successful collaboration between our two organisations.
