Ellie Horvath
Refrigeration engineering apprentice based at Star Refrigeration’s Derby branch, Kelvin Clamp, has been shortlisted for the prestigious RAC Magazine and IOR Student of the Year which will be announced at a ceremony on 22nd September in London.
The highly regarded RAC and IOR Student of the Year award recognises an apprentice who has gone above and beyond their expected duties and has shown exceptional ability in the field of refrigeration, air conditioning and heating. The award is a partnership between the Institute of Refrigeration (IOR) and RAC Magazine, judged by a panel of industry experts.
Announced as one of the six finalists shortlisted for the award, Kelvin Clamp joined Star Refrigeration’s Operations team in Derby in August 2020 as a refrigeration engineering apprentice. Opting for the ‘earn as you learn’ route, Kelvin attends Derby College to undertake his academic learning.
His drive for building a successful career in Industrial Cooling and Heating has not gone unnoticed. Both his lecturers and his colleagues at Star Refrigeration have been impressed with his knowledge, enthusiasm and keen work ethic.
Dave Bartlett, Operations Training Manager at Star Refrigeration said “As Kelvin’s training manager, attending regular training provider review meetings has been a pleasure. Always polite, timely in arrival and working to deadlines, Kelvin has been referred to on many an occasion as the ‘perfect student’. It came as no surprise when feedback from his lecturers were that he is already working to level 4 standards having not yet completed his level 3. I’m sure Kelvin will prove a great asset to the business and will have a long and rewarding career ahead of him.”
On his apprenticeship experience so far, Kelvin Clamp said “I’ve always been a hands on person who likes tinkering and finding out how things work – working within the industrial refrigeration field allows me to do this. Since I’ve been at Star Refrigeration, I’ve had the opportunity to carry out maintenance and service works on plant and equipment, with the assistance of senior engineers. In the last 6 months I have been working onsite. In this time my knowledge of ammonia systems has developed immensely and I feel confident in undertaking a variety of tasks”.
Star Refrigeration advocates training and promotes youth employment through its top rated apprenticeship scheme which has produced award winning engineers since 1970. More recently, Star apprentices have received a number of accolades including The IOR Scotland Apprentice of the Year Awards, Bronze Medal at Worldskills UK, Student of the Year at the RAC Cooling Awards and ACR Trainee of the Year.
The RAC and IOR Student of the Year winner will be announced at an award ceremony in London’s Grosvenor House Ballroom on 22 September and will receive a cash prize of £1,000 along with a supercar driving experience. The top three entries, who will each receive cash prizes starting at £150 will also be recognised, along with their employers during the award ceremony.
Find out more about the RAC and IOR Student of the Year Awards here: https://coolingawards.racplus.com/cool/en/page/home
To find out more about Star Refrigeration’s leading industrial apprenticeship programme visit: https://www.star-ref.co.uk/home-page/careers/opportunities/apprenticeships/
