A Manufacturing Technology Centre apprentice is in the running for a top award, after being short-listed for Apprentice of the Year in the prestigious SEMTA Skills Awards 2020.
Second-year apprentice Davina Kaur has been undergoing her apprenticeship training through the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre (AMTC) in Coventry, while being employed as an automation engineer by RNA Automation of Castle Bromwich Business Park, Birmingham.
Davina, who is 18, has already won the AMTC’s Apprentice of the Month award twice. Davina is now rotating throughout departments at RNA to gain a first-hand experience and a deeper understanding of the business before starting work in the development of bespoke automation cells. She is a STEM ambassador, promoting careers in engineering for youngsters, particularly women, and is the first female engineer on the shopfloor at RNA.
Davina lives in Stoney Stanton, near Hinckley and is a former pupil of Lutterworth High School. She began her apprenticeship in September 2018 and began employment at RNA last year.
Matt Bastock of the AMTC’s apprenticeship programme said Davina’s dedication to her own development was exceptional.
“Davina wanted an apprenticeship that focussed on future skills through advanced manufacturing. To access this, for the first year of her training she made a 36-mile round trip from her home to the AMTC every day. She has consistently gained high marks for her assessed work and was the first from her cohort to complete her Year One portfolio. She was the only apprentice to be selected to receive additive manufacturing training in the MTC’s National Centre for Additive Manufacturing, and has discovered a passion for robotics,” he said.
He added, “Armed with her new skills she has given support to other learners in her training group, particularly for technical knowledge. She regularly promotes the benefits of taking on apprentices to employers at national events and still finds time for charitable fund-raising and working with the homeless.”
The SEMTA Skills Awards will be presented in March. SEMTA – the Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Alliance – is an employer-led organisation dedicated to improving the skills and productivity of people in the engineering and manufacturing sectors.
The MTC was founded by the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University, the University of Nottingham and TWI Ltd. The MTC’s industrial members include some of the UK’s major global manufacturers.
The MTC aims to provide a competitive environment to bridge the gap between university-based research and the development of innovative manufacturing solutions, in line with the Government’s manufacturing strategy. The MTC is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, supported by Innovate UK.
Pictured: Davina Kaur
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