JCB apprentice scoops national award

Design engineer Daisy Coombes, 21, of Uttoxeter, was named Bryan Hildrew Apprentice of the Year by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) at an awards ceremony at its London headquarters.

Now Ms Coombes is keen to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with an international audience by using her £1,500 educational grant prize to develop a special engineering toolkit for young people in third world countries.

Ms Coombes said: “I want to give young people in underprivileged countries the opportunity to experience engineering, so I’m using the money to work with IMechE to develop a box to help young people in developing countries learn engineering skills that can be used in their daily lives.”

Her determination to inspire girls to consider a career in engineering and shine the spotlight on the apprenticeship study route singled her out for the national accolade.

The young role model joined JCB’s apprentice programme in 2014 after taking A Levels in physics, maths and product design. She is now a design engineer for Staffordshire-based JCB Compact Products, which manufactures mini and midi excavators.

She added: “It was a great honour to receive the award and definitely the highlight of my career so far. I have always aimed to make opportunities for myself and JCB has given me the chance to pursue a lot of amazing avenues.

“When I joined JCB, four of the 11 people in our cohort were girls. Engineering is a great career for women, and for me, the apprenticeship route has opened up so many opportunities that I’d definitely recommend it as an alternative to university.”

JCB learning and development spokesman Simon Wood commented: “Daisy is already a very capable engineer; she works very hard on her courses and she is also a great advocate for apprentices in general. She says yes to opportunities and is always prepared to take on a challenge.”

JCB is now supporting Ms Coombes through the final year of a BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering and in helping her take further steps towards chartered engineer status.

JCB www.jcb.com