Kirklees College Student scoops IET Student Excellence award

Mechanical Engineering Apprentice Catherine Smith is celebrating after winning the IET Award for Student Excellence, which recognises individuals who stand out from their peers and have made noteworthy achievements in their area of expertise.

Catherine who is undertaking her Mechanical Engineering Technical Apprenticeship with Kirklees College and working for world-leading precision manufacturing company Reliance Precision, comes from a family of engineers with her uncle and grandfather both working in the field.

Catherine took the apprenticeship route after finishing college and wanted to emulate her grandfather’s success in the field by working her way up through the engineering ranks and ultimately making him proud of her achievements.

“I’m really excited to receive this award and want to thank the support of both Kirklees College and Reliance Precision, I couldn’t have achieved this without their guidance and belief in me. I am learning so much on my apprenticeship and have such a great place of work, I can’t wait to see what the future brings,” said Catherine.

“Catherine is making fantastic progression on her apprenticeship and is flourishing into a fantastic engineer. We’re delighted she has won this award as she fully deserves it. Catherine is very committed and puts 100% into everything she does. We look forward to seeing her continued success throughout the remainder of her apprenticeship,” said David Torr, Head of Metrology.

Kirklees College train approximately 2,000 apprentices over 30 occupational areas, who are employed at over 1,000 companies throughout West Yorkshire.