William’s light shines bright with another major award

The UK’s best Electrical Apprentice, Limavady student William Falconer, has just returned from a prestigious event in London, at which he was bestowed with yet another major accolade.
Sheriff of the City of London, Nigel Pullman presents Limavady student William with his awardSheriff of the City of London, Nigel Pullman presents Limavady student William with his award
Sheriff of the City of London, Nigel Pullman presents Limavady student William with his award

The 19 year old from Claudy, who studies at the North West Regional College’s Greystone Road campus in Limavady, received the ‘Apprentice Certificate’ from the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers, in recognition of the skill and talent he has demonstrated in Electrical Installation at a UK wide level in the past year.

The ceremony was held at the Tallow Chandlers Hall in London and was presented by the Sheriff of the City of London, Nigel Pullman.

The ‘Apprentice’ certificate is given annually to a young person who has demonstrated exceptional technical skill. It comes just months after William won the gold medal at the UK Skills Show, outshining the nine other top apprentices from across the UK in Electrical Installation.

The Worshipful Company of Lightmongers represents all sections of the Lighting and Electrical industry and the awards are designed to recognise achievements and foster excellence. This certificate places William at the Lightmongers landmark ‘apprentice’ stage of his career and allows him to aim to achieve a Craft and then Master Certificate in the future from the Livery company.

One of the criteria for the award is the industrial experience that recipients have gained and William has received excellent support from his employer, C and E Electrical, which is vital with so much additional training required to compete in such high level competition.

This is the second year running that NWRC has been represented at the Worshipful Lightmongers Presentation, and while the award recognises William’s individual talent and outstanding technical abilities, it also reflects the continuing excellence in Electrical Installation at North West Regional College. William assumed the title of the UK’s leading electrical apprentice from fellow student Adrian Canning, who is aiming for WorldSkills later this year, and has now followed Adrian’s success at the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers in 2012. Both learners have had their skills cultivated and developed by lecturer Keith Wade at the College’s Limavady campus, with extra training and support to guide them as they prepared for the pressured skills competition environment.

As Adrian hopes to make it to WorldSkills 2013, William has his sights set on the 2015 competition in Brazil. Given his success to date, the staff at NWRC are certain this young man has what it takes to compete on the world stage.