Apprentice of the Year
Stuart Queen was chosen as the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce Apprentice of the Year 2016 after an impressive 12 months that included being named one of the Students of the Year at last year ’ s college graduation ceremony , and placing third in the 2015 Skills Show in Birmingham .
He tells us about his time working with Kilmarnock-based company , Character Joinery , who have been involved with the design and crafting of bespoke furniture at the new campus .
“ After completing 5th year at Loudoun Academy , I managed to secure an apprenticeship with Character Joinery / Transition Interiors . I attended the Ayr Campus block release to complete an SVQ in Carpentry and Joinery . I have always wanted to be a joiner and always enjoyed practical subjects . I knew from school that I would be best suited to a craft based job which was hands-on .
I thoroughly enjoyed my time at college . My lecturers were more than helpful . They taught me so much . It was great to be able to apply what I was learning at college to my job . I was really able to put my skills into practice . I would eventually like to be a lecturer . I know it would be a challenging career but think it would be extremely rewarding .”