Press release -
Solus Warrington’s George Roberts named Thatcham Research Mentor of the Year at the British Bodyshop Awards
- Essential role that mentors play in apprentice ‘learner journey’ recognised by Thatcham Research
- Cotswold Accident Repair’s Mark Rainer awarded second place and Adam Brown of Patersons third
Mentor George Roberts of Solus Warrington was honoured in front of hundreds of repair industry guests at the British Bodyshop Awards last night. Nominated by his MET Tech apprentice Reece Griffiths, George was presented with the prestigious Mentor of Year Award which recognises the vital role a great Mentor plays in an apprentice’s professional and personal development.
George comments, “I feel very proud to have won this award, it means so much to me. It’s an honour to be here tonight with all the other nominees. Reece has been a great apprentice and I’m very proud of him too.”
All Mentor of the Year award candidates are nominated by their apprentices or their Thatcham Research assessor, with apprentice Reece Griffiths highlighting George’s wealth of knowledge, motivating attitude, patient supervision and nurturing mentoring style in the winning submission.
Reece added, “I wouldn’t be where I am today in my personal and professional life without the mentoring support from George. I can’t thank him enough.”
Dean Lander, Head of Repair Sector Services, Thatcham Research, comments, “An individual committed to delivering a rewarding learner journey for their apprentice can mean the difference between making and breaking a fledgling career. George, Mark and Adam possess all the qualities of great mentors; patience, dedication and empathy to name a few. They have rightly been recognised for their fundamental role in promoting the repair industry as a fulfilling career destination. This is especially important given the currently confused landscape created by the Apprentice Levy and recent reports of more than 30 per cent of those who start apprenticeships not completing them.”
Over 1,500 apprentices have trained at Thatcham Research’s state of the art Academy since 2004. Thatcham Research’s apprentice intake will start in September 2018, with spaces available in Paint, Panel and MET disciplines. Instructor-led training takes place over eight one-week blocks supported by online digital training material and face-to face assessor visits and surgeries.
Please call 01635 293174 or email customerservices@thatcham.org for more information.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
References: recent FE Week article - Why are apprenticeship drop-put rates so high?
https://feweek.co.uk/2018/03/20/why-are-apprenticeship-drop-out-rates-so-high/
Topics
- Education
Thatcham Research is the independent voice of automotive safety & repair, advising motorists, insurers and vehicle manufacturers to help reduce accident frequency, severity and costs and to realise the vision of ‘Safer cars, fewer crashes’.
As well as its world leading crash and track research, Thatcham Research tests and accredits crash repair parts, vehicle repair technicians, and a number of other products and services within the collision repair industry for insurers, motor manufacturers, equipment manufacturers and suppliers.
In addition, Thatcham Research has been at the forefront of vehicle security since the 1990s when it introduced the New Vehicle Security Assessment (NVSA) to address levels of vehicle crime.
A founder member of the international Research Council for Automobile Repairs (RCAR), Thatcham Research has also been a member of the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) since 2004.
