Associated British Ports’ is delighted that another of its engineering apprentices has scooped an Apprentice of the Year award – the third win this year for the Humber.

Charlie Hickson, Mechanical Engineer Apprentice, was named the top apprentice out of a very strong group at the Humberside Engineering Training Association (HETA) awards. He started at HETA in August last year and started full time on site at the Port of Immingham last month.

Brad Crumbleholme, Head of Engineering (Humber) at ABP said: “It’s a great accolade to see our engineering apprentices picking up these awards, as they are a great reflection of the amazing team, we have at ABP. It’s testament to our teams that developing our people is so critical to maintaining safe, resilient and high-performing ports now and for the future.”

Port life beckoned to Charlie after attending a HETA open evening and meeting the team from ABP who were there exhibiting. He said they stood out from the other businesses, and he knew it was the company he wanted to work for.

He said: “I’ve learnt so much while at HETA from safety to bench fitting. It’s given me the skills and knowledge to come on to the port, which is very daunting due to the scale of it. One of the best choices I did was doing an apprenticeship. I am learning every day, and I am earning a wage.”

The first year of the programme has seen Charlie learn the mechanics of how things work, to bench fitting, fluid power exploring pneumatics and compressed air, to machining on how to use lathes and mills.

Working in In-Dock on the largest port by volume of tonnage in the UK, has seen him conducting a range of different jobs from visual inspections to going up cranes to change motors. He added: “It’s a bit daunting and you’re on big jobs immediately but you’re with qualified fitters who support you and you learn from them. When I came, I began by watching and now I’ve started doing some jobs on my own like changing seals after two months. I know I can ask the other fitters if I need help.”

Winning Mechanical Apprentice of the Year came as a surprise to the seventeen-year-old, who said there was a lot of competition as it was a strong group, so he was very happy he’d won.

Charlie, whose grandad worked on the port for 35 years before retiring, said: “When I qualify, I know this is a job I can keep for life. I want to get all the training and qualifications I can get and see where it takes me. If you get the opportunity, you should take it as there’s lots of others who would want it.”

In May, Ben Goodwin, a second-year electrical apprentice, was named top apprentice at the HETA Awards after being nominated by his supervisor, James Daniels, who also won Employer Mentor of the Year.

ABP offers four-year programme where you can work as an Electrical Engineer or a Maintenance and Engineering Technician, while studying towards a Level 3 Apprenticeship. Our apprentices earn while they learn with ABP apprenticeships, offering the opportunity to train with the UK’s leading ports operator.