A young engineer from Birmingham has secured the main prize at this year’s In-Comm Training Awards after helping his firm secure a ‘game-changing’ contract.

Adam Burgoyne — a new-product engineer at metal pressings and stamping specialist Brandauer — was named as the ‘Outstanding Apprentice of the Year’ after earlier picking up the title of ‘Learner of the Year for Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies’.

The 21-year-old helped to identify the measurement equipment required to win the company’s first-ever Middle East pharma contract.

He was joined on stage by his colleague James Arnold, who impressedthe judges with his determination to drive sales at sister business CB Cable Clips to take the ‘Learner of the Year — Business Support Award’.

Employer of the Year was won by Wolverhampton-based Fablink UK, a specialist manufacturer of metal pressings, operator cab assemblies, fuel and hydraulic tanks and complex structures.

The company, which also has facilities in Northampton and Darlington, currently employs 20 apprentices — making up 5% of its permanent workforce.

Bekki Phillips, In-Comm Training’s joint managing director (www.in-comm.co.uk), said: “There has been a lot of negativity surrounding apprenticeships this year, with the national media quick to put the proverbial boot into the levy and how it is failing employers around the UK.

"Talk of the number of ‘starts’ being down and large businesses turning their backs on vocational training has dominated the headlines, but that’s only part of the story.

"We have had the opportunity to tell the other half.

"The annual In-Comm Training Awards provide a fantastic platform to inform people about the amazing things that are happening in the West Midlands.”