Leeds College of Building (LCB) students and apprentices from the 2024/2025 academic year have been honoured at the annual BIG (Building Industry Greats) Awards.
More accolades than ever before were handed out, including 44 trophies, seven Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) QUEST Technician Scholarships, and one medal from the British Tunnelling Society Young Members.
Virgin Radio and LUTV broadcaster Rich Williams hosted the awards dinner and ceremony held at the Centenary Pavilion at Elland Road.
One of the most prestigious trophies of the evening went to Gracie Belwood for her exceptional approach to studies.
Gracie, who works at Systra Group, won The Governors’ Award after completing a Level 3 Transport Planning Apprenticeship at the college. She is now progressing to a Transport Planning Degree Apprenticeship at Northeastern University London.
Gracie also won the ‘Commitment to Industry and Professional Development’ Award (sponsored by Turner & Townsend) and said she was “ecstatic” to be honoured:
“My apprenticeship with LCB has been very helpful, especially in the transport planning course. I’ve had a lot of opportunities to go and do lots of field trips and experience new things that I can apply to my job role.”
Howard Civil Engineering employee, Daniel Heffernan, also took home The Principal’s Award after completing a Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship in Quantity Surveying at LCB. Daniel has been at the college since 2019, progressing up from a Level 4 qualification in Quantity Surveying.
Daniel also won the ‘Commitment to the College’ Award and said he was surprised after only expecting to receive one trophy:
“LCB has given me confidence in terms of reinforcing what you do at work, but also filling gaps in where the work can’t expose you to certain things. Studying here, you get an appreciation of the industry as a whole.”
In total, 16 organisations supported the evening, including gold headline sponsor Marlborough, silver sponsor BAM, and bronze sponsors EPA Construction, Bentley and Sparta Systems.
Paul Donnelly, Managing Director at Marlborough, said the awards were a great opportunity to give something back:
“We truly believe that without an influx of young people, there is no future for the industry. For us, we sponsor these awards as a reward for everyone’s efforts and to show that there is a good future in this line of work.”
Ian Hunter, Technical Apprenticeship Manager at long-term industry partners BAM, said the evening “rubber stamps what we’re trying to do as a business in terms of developing emerging talent and bringing new apprentices into the industry. It’s a great industry to be in. I’ve been in it for more than 40 years, and it’s not just muddy boots and digging holes. There’s a lot more to it than you think!”
Reflecting on the evening, LCB CEO and Principal Nikki Davis added,
“This really has been a fantastic year for LCB. We’ve undergone a successful rebrand, our T Level students received exceptional grades, and we’ve been named one of the first ever Construction Technical Excellence Colleges.
“The BIG Awards are perfectly timed to celebrate all our excellent students and staff, and tomorrow we’re all back in college for the new academic year which we hope is even bigger and better than the last.”
This post is based on a press release issued on behalf of Leeds College of Building
Main photo: Gracie Belwood and Daniel Heffernan
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