Apprentice on the fast track to success after winning Stars of the Future award22nd May 2013

A former world land speed record holder has presented an award from a leading trade body to a Jones Bros apprentice.

Apprentice plant mechanic Geraint Williams has won a Construction Plant Association Stars of the Future award, celebrating the dedication he has shown to his development whilst training with Jones Bros.

Geraint was named the Level 3 Apprentice award winner for North Wales at the Plantworx 2013 trade exhibition, where his award was presented by Richard Noble OBE, who held the world record for the fastest speed achieved by a wheeled vehicle between 1983 and 1997.

Geraint, who is now close to completing his three-year apprenticeship with Jones Bros, said receiving the award and meeting the Scottish entrepreneur was “a real honour”.

He said: “It was great to meet him, and it was really inspiring to meet someone who’s achieved so much.

“It was a real surprise to be told that I’d won the award. I’ve had a fantastic time with Jones Bros, and this award is a real honour.”

23-year-old Geraint, from Llandegla, Denbighshire, was put forward for the award by his engineering tutor at college, and said the mentorship he received from Jones Bros had made all the difference to his training.

Geraint said: “My tutor said he nominated me because my work had come on leaps and bounds during my time here, and I think a large part of that is down to the mentoring I’ve received through Jones Bros.

“I can’t grumble at all – I owe a big debt to them for letting me work with a great bunch of people who have all helped me so much. The other lads knew I was inexperienced when I started, and they’ve really taken me under their wing.

After starting his apprenticeship in 2010, Geraint has developed his mechanical skills at Jones Bros’ plant yard in Ruthin, while also studying at Coleg Llysfasi in Ruthin.

As well as excelling in his studies, Geraint has gone the extra mile to get practical experience by spending his last two summers on-site at large-scale projects in Wigan and Telford.

Geraint’s award comes hot on the heels of another success achieved by a Jones Bros apprentice, after 23-year-old Christian Williams was named the apprentice of the year at the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Wales annual dinner.

Jones Bros Training Manager Dave Gibson said: “The fact that it’s already been a really successful year shows how much effort we put into our apprenticeship programmes.

“We’re all really pleased for Geraint, he’s worked extremely hard for us and really deserves this award.”

Family-owned Jones Bros Civil Engineering, which has its headquarters in Ruthin, was founded in the 1950s and is one of the UK’s leading civil engineering companies with a wealth of expertise in developing highways, providing waste management and remediation services and managing complex logistics for renewable energy.

The company employs 300 people and, in the last two years, has invested more than £4m in new plant and equipment. It has regional offices in Swansea, Inverness, Linlithgow, near Falkirk and Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire.