BES apprentice scoops national award

Dylan Gilbert (centre) with Graeme Fox Director of Technical BESA (left) with host Zoe Lyons

An apprentice with BES Ltd has won a national award from the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA).

The BESA HNC & HND Apprentice of the Year Award 2022 has been awarded to Dylan Gilbert, who has been training with BES, the specialist in design and construction of controlled environments for the last five years.

The annual awards recognise apprentices and employers within the building services industry who have demonstrated outstanding achievements.

Dylan, who went through to the national finals of the Apprentice of the Year Award ceremony having first won the North West regional competition, joined BES for a week’s work experience back in 2014/15. Initially, he didn’t get accepted on the apprenticeship scheme but reapplied the following year. Even that wasn’t that straightforward as he needed to prove himself again throughout several trial periods.

However, Dylan successfully proved himself and five years later, following extensive training and development and hard work at BES, alongside day release through college, Dylan now works on complex building projects in the pharmaceutical sector.

Steve Marsh, founder and chairman at BES is delighted with Dylan’s progression. He said: “Dylan, without doubt, deserves this national accolade. He is a fine example of where his own personal determination, and going that extra mile, has brought success.”

Dylan, who is now a junior mechanical designer, was very emotional when hearing he had won; he said: “This is such a massive achievement for all the hard work over the last five years. When I first joined the BES apprentice scheme, I needed to prove I was no ‘one hit wonder’ throughout my training where I began on small-scale projects with limited scope.

“Today I am working for one of the company’s largest clients as a designer and have been involved in surveys, estimates and every part of the job which I thoroughly enjoy. It is a challenge but also fun to learn and I know I have the support and confidence of my team to go on and achieve even more.”