Bob Brown Awards 2012

Yesterday saw the presentation ceremony for the Bob Brown Awards run through Newcastle City Council where Building Futures East is proud to say that Daniel Kelly won the 3rd Year Apprentice 2011 Award and David Bradley, BFE’s Environmental Maintenance Manager won the Trainer of the Year in recognition of the outstanding support given to Newcastle City Council Trainees, Apprentices and Training Team.

Kenny More, Head of Training at Newcastle City Council enthusiastically commented about Daniel Kelly saying, “this apprentice has not let his age be a barrier to him working towards a supervisory level qualification at just 19 years of age, though it is easy to forget just how young Daniel really is as he shows such maturity beyond his years. For such a young person he has shown wonderful creativity when completing his technical certificate and his submissions have been of an excellent standard.”

Kenny also commented that, “commitment, hard work and a positive attitude are his greatest strengths as he continually demonstrates a keen willingness to learn about horticulture. As well as producing some excellent work-based evidence, he has been formally assessed both in the work place and at college and he has continuously maintained a professional and dedicated attitude towards his work. He is a qualified arborist and uses chain saws and climbing equipment for this tree work. His attendance record is exemplary as is his motivation and drive to succeed leading him to be recommended for this award by his mentor and his college tutor.”

The award for Trainer of the Year 2011 was presented to David Bradley in recognition of the effort, support and time spent with learners who need a little more help than others. Kenny again commented that “this trainer has a 100% success rate for all of his students and takes a great deal of interest in their well being. He knows when to be strict but has a softer side when required, enabling everyone to develop at their own pace. He always has time to see the apprentices individually and carries out all of our machinery training in horticulture.”

Dave supervises a group of young people who complete work for the elderly and disadvantaged residents of the east end which allows them to remain in their own homes when gardens become too much for them to manage.

Kenny said “it has been wonderful to see the development of our horticulture apprentices who work with Building Futures East and Dave, Trainer and Supervisor of the programme has done some sterling work with the apprentices who all come from wards with very low IMD scores. The apprentices themselves have profited from Dave’s immense knowledge of horticulture and they are an absolute pleasure to work with.”

Kenny commented further that “regular meetings with Dave and his team have proven to be uplifting as his enthusiasm and theirs rubs off, leaving you with a great sense of pride in their achievements. We are very proud of our partnership with Building Futures East and look forward to working with them for many years to come.”