Lydia Feasey has been named as the winner of the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Apprentice of the Year — a new award that recognises the UK’s best apprentices and technicians. Lydia is now a mechanical technician at the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) in Oxfordshire. She completed her apprenticeship at the Joint European Torus (JET) — the world’s largest nuclear fusion project, which has its HQ at the CCFE (the purpose of the facility is to develop fusion as a ‘clean energy’ source for the future).

In 2010-11, a beryllium, tungsten and Inconel wall was installed at the JET’s reactor (as a replacement for carbon-fibre composite tiles) to see how these materials behave in such extreme conditions. Last year, when parts of this wall had to be removed for analysis, Lydia was asked to manage the project. She was responsible for moving and tracking 500 components, each worth up to £20,000. Every component made it to its destination safely and intact.

She said: “The parts we were moving were incredibly fragile. Throughout the process, I was required to make important decisions, communicate with people at all levels and monitor processes that I had implemented. I graduated from my apprenticeship in September, and I know that I’ll re-use all that I learnt during the project.”

IET president Barry Brooks (pictured with Lydia) said: “Lydia should be very proud to have been named IET Apprentice of the Year, which recognises that she is one of the most exceptional young individuals in her field. There is an urgent need to encourage more young people into engineering and to show that apprenticeships provide a vital way to develop skills that are much in demand in the increasingly complex engineering and technology sectors. This route into the profession opens doors to exciting and rewarding careers.”