CDE boast apprentice of the year finalist

28 May, 2015

James Kee shortlisted to the final six out of 7,000 entrants in 2015 Apprentice of the Year Awards

JAMES Kee, an engineering apprentice with CDE Global in Cookstown, Co. Tyrone, recently made the finals of the 2015 Apprentice of the Year Awards, which are organized by the Department of Employment and Learning (DEL) to recognize the achievements of those currently undertaking apprenticeship training across all industry sectors in Northern Ireland.

After being shortlisted to the final six out of 7,000 apprentices, Mr Kee attended the grand final at Riddel Hall, Belfast, on Wednesday 20 May, along with CDE Global’s engineering manager, Sean Kerr.

Mr Kee (centre of photo) said: ‘To be part of the Apprentice of the Year Awards was a huge pleasure and I was over the moon to get as far as I did. The whole day was a great success and the people that the judges had chosen to be the last six were very talented and fully deserving of their place. I was very proud to be representing CDE and South West College as a product of the apprenticeship scheme.

‘The awards ceremony itself was great, having the opportunity to meet other apprentices from all over Northern Ireland, and to meet such influential people such as Pete Snodden (left of photo) and David Meade was a pleasure. I feel the whole awards scheme was a great success and all six finalists were winners to get as far as they did.’

During the event, Mr Kee, who is in year two of his four-year apprenticeship programme, addressed the audience to speak about the types of projects he has been involved in at CDE and his future career plans.

Congratulating him on his achievement, Sean Kerr (right of photo) said: ‘Getting this far in the competition is testament to James’s talent, skill and commitment to his career. I believe all the finalists are winners; to be shortlisted from a possible 7,000 is something to be proud of.’

He added: ‘James plays a key role within our design team, and we have no doubt he will have a long and successful career here at CDE.’