Meet The Apprentice of the Year! Didar, our young automotive apprentice, has been confirmed as the Preston College ‘Apprentice of the Year’ 2022. Didar came to the UK as a refugee from Iraq just six years ago after members of his family were tragically evicted from their home. Not being able to speak English, the only words in Didar’s vocabulary were ‘hi’ and ‘bye.’ Using his own initiative, and because of his love for cars, Didar visited Preston College hoping to enrol on an automotive course. However, Didar at this point needed help and support with his English speaking, and to complete his English and Maths qualifications. Preston College was able to give Didar the information, advice and guidance that he needed and enrolled him onto the English Speaking for Other Languages (ESOL) course. With 12 months of dedication and hard work on these courses, Didar completed his GCSE Maths achieving at Grade 4 and he also successfully achieved Level 2 English Functional Skills. From there he enrolled onto the Level 1 Automotive course. It was during this year that he achieved ‘Student of the Year’ for his hard work, dedication and commitment to his course and completed the course well within time, allowing him to progress onto his Level 2. Again, Didar showed no signs of stopping and achieved a high pass on his Level 2 course with the help of the apprenticeship team, mentorship and motivational talks (Didar struggled to believe in himself and would often question why he would be successful as a refugee over other UK citizens). Through sheer determination and steady growth in confidence, Didar successfully secured an apprenticeship with Bowker Motor Group (a Lancashire car dealership for Porsche, BMW and Mini) on the Level 3 Automotive programme and is well on his way to completing his qualification. His tutors emphasise that Didar is one of the hardest working individuals they have had the pleasure to teach and work with. They were blown away when Didar, after just 12 months on his ESOL course, revisited them and was able to have a full conversation with them. Didar is a strong ambassador for the College and for his peers. He has shown them that through hard work and dedication you can achieve anything. Kevin Cleever, work-based tutor for Automotive Technology says: “Didar is above all a quietly focussed learner who has shown real initiative and tenacity and is a valuable member of our college community.” Didar says: “I was very surprised and proud to win the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ award. When I enrolled at Preston College I could barely say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’. But everything has taken off since then. I chose automotive technology because I hoped it would offer me important transferable skills. The support I enjoy at Preston College helps. But it makes a big difference when you combine it with the first-hand experience at Bowker. It is a great way to develop my learning by watching and speaking to colleagues too.” Earlier this year Bowker Motor Group entered into a long-term partnership with the College. The new automotive technologies partnership will help apprentices learn a breadth of knowledge, skills and behaviours in their specific area. The partnership with Bowker Motor Group has already led to apprenticeship opportunities within customer service and various automotive pathways within their prestigious dealerships. For Bowker, Richard Rawlings said: “Congratulations to Didar. Bowker Motor Group have dedicated their time to involve learners in valuable work placement opportunities, with the potential to move to an apprenticeship programme. The development of our partnership enables learners to capture and experience industry, combined with underpinning knowledge, skills and behaviours. Students are getting a fantastic opportunity to learn bespoke engines to help with their understanding of the automotive industry. Didar is a great example of the difference our partnership can make.” Mark Taylor, Head of School for Engineering and Automotive Technologies says: “We could not be prouder of Didar. What this young man has achieved in just 6 years is remarkable and truly inspirational. The relationship with Bowker ensures we are able to give young learners like Didar a real opportunity to learn the technical skills in the automotive industry. The skills he’ll learn alongside Preston College’s industryexperienced staff and the professional technician team at Bowker, will set strong foundations for a fulfilling and successful career. A huge well done from all of us at Preston College.” 14
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