Luke Noble received the ‘Highly Commended’ accolade in recognition of the trainee’s accomplishment of reaching the height of excellence in his chosen trade at the first UKCG Apprentice of the Year 2010 awards. The 21 year old has been working with Willmott Dixon Partnerships for the past two years on the company’s contract with Birmingham City Council to repair and maintain 60,000 properties in the city.

Luke spent three years applying for apprenticeships with local companies before his perseverance paid off and he was offered a role when he approached Willmott Dixon. Now his career is really taking off!

He said, “I am very grateful to everyone at Willmott Dixon for the ongoing training, support and help which I have received from the company and my colleagues since joining the company. It was a huge surprise to find out that I had been nominated, and I am honoured to receive this award from the industry experts. It’s my aim to continue working hard at my job, and I am looking forward to finishing my apprenticeship and becoming fully qualified.”

Luke’s line manager, Dominic Anslow, said, “Luke demonstrates enthusiasm, punctuality, honesty and politeness to all customers and individuals he works with and always works with people on a professional basis. This is vitally important in the type of work we are carrying out – at the end of the day we have several ‘customers’ – be it tenants, the client, as well as internal colleagues. Luke displays a great level of maturity for someone of just 21 years of age. He is beyond his years in the tasks he undertakes and in his relationships with colleagues of all levels. He’s an excellent example to his peers.”

Sharon Ayles, training manager at Willmott Dixon Partnerships, said, ““Our business is committed to lifelong learning and all of our staff are encouraged to undertake continuous development. Luke is committed to progressing his chosen career and can feel extremely proud of himself. In this current economic climate many companies are turning away from vocational learning; however we are committed to recognising the value such investment has for the long term and for the success of our business and ultimately the organisations we are working with.”