Last Wednesday (June 26th) we attended the CPA Stars of the Future awards – an awards show designed to recognise and celebrate the outstanding apprentices emerging throughout the construction industry. Our focus was set on the ‘Plant Operative’ award and we were delighted to learn all three finalists in the category were Flannery apprentices. Joe Stephenson, Sean Brennan and Jake Howard were the operators in the spotlight and should be incredibly proud of this achievement. Patrick Flannery also held a keynote presentation, focusing on the importance of apprenticeships and how hard working and determined individuals can strengthen the foundation of a workforce.
The first of our three nominees, Joe Stephenson, has achieved a huge amount in his first year. Having already had the chance to work on some high profile infrastructure jobs, he has become an integral part of the team. Peter Hanley (On-site Operator Coordinator) spoke about his continued dedication, saying: “Joe has always been keen to develop his skills and has often stayed back after his shift to build experience on other machines or to help his colleagues out if the project timescales are behind. He is an asset to the project, and I would like him to be a constant member of my future teams.”
Next on stage was Sean Brennan. Recognised as being distinctly safety-orientated and conscientious while on site, Sean is a fantastic role model for any future apprentices. Whilst on the Tideway job, Sean developed his skills on a host of machines and Tideway General Foreman, Mark Roberts emphasised that “he always asked questions if unsure of what was asked of him, so this gave the site team trust that Sean knew exactly what he was doing.”
Lastly was Jake Howard – the winner of the Plant Operative Star of the Future Award 2019! Throughout his two years at Flannery, Jake has received consistently excellent feedback from our customers and has quickly developed into one of the most valued members of the team. Darwin Wright (Operator Coordinator), was especially impressed by Jake’s enthusiasm, stating that “He brings positivity to the rest of the workforce and he always manages to make even the most mundane tasks seem exciting.” David Gibbons (Flannery Depot Manager) also added that “Jake is a pleasure to work with and has always embraced any opportunity thrown to him. We continually receive great feedback from site about his ability to relate to other operators and be part of a team.”
We cannot express quite how honoured we are to have received this recognition. All three finalists are perfect ambassadors, not only for the company as a whole but our Apprenticeship Scheme in particular. Developing potential talent into a ‘star’ is the ultimate goal of any apprenticeship and seeing our team gain praise of this calibre gives us great excitement for the future generation of Flannery operators.
