An apprentice engineer from the Isle of Man was among the winners at the recent North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) New Talent Awards, an event run in partnership with the Department of Economic Development and the Isle of Man Aerospace Cluster.

Held on 2nd March 2017 at the Imperial War Museum in Manchester, the awards recognise and reward the achievements of young apprentices and graduates from the North West of England and the Isle of Man’s aerospace and defence industry.

Following fierce competition and entries from organisations across the North West and Isle of Man, local apprentice Robert Kermode from Triumph Group, based in Onchan, gained the Highly Commended accolade. His project entry for the awards focussed on Value Stream Mapping and lean transformation of the manufacturing process for the Airbus A320 Selector body - a key component of the landing gear system.

Lawrie Hooper MHK, Political Member with Responsibility for Manufacturing, said:

‘Congratulations to Robert and the team at Triumph on their prestigious award win. It showcases the quality of the Isle of Man apprenticeship scheme run by University College Isle of Man at the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre and demonstrates the Isle of Man’s commitment to excellence and encouraging skills development in the engineering and aerospace sectors.’

David Bailey, Chief Executive Officer at NWAA, said:

‘The New Talent Awards has become a key event for the North West’s Aerospace and Defence Sector. It is important that we continue to recognise and reward the achievements of the talent emerging in our industry. It is hugely important to our industry that we increase the numbers of talented young people into apprenticeships to nurture essential skills to achieve the growth the manufacturing industry is experiencing.’

The evening included a three course dinner and speeches from the 2013 winner of the Best North West Aerospace & Defence Apprentice award, Pavandeep Bhogal, BAE Systems, Aviator & Adventurer Bird in a Bi-Plane Tracey Curtis-Taylor and Nick Colosimo, Strategy & Planning Manager, Future Capabilities BAE Systems.

The overall winner and runner up were apprentices from MBDA and BAE Systems respectively.

Photo - Robert Kermode from Triumph Group.