A NATIONAL recognition for a Halstead apprentice has been given as they won a huge award.

Adam Hearn, 29, won the Royal Navy Award for Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year at the National Apprenticeship Awards 2021.

The awards annually showcase the very best of England’s apprentices, apprentice employers, champions, and rising stars.

Adam works for Braintree Precision Components, a manufacturing and engineering company in the town.

Working for them for ten years, Adam has enjoyed his time with the company, progressing slowly up the ranks.

He said: “I really enjoy it, there’s lot of variation.

“I applied for a level two apprenticeship ten years ago, progressed up the ranks and now I’m doing a degree.

“I have moved up into a position of responsibility in the office based team and taken over the apprenticeship program with a HR rep at the company.”

Adam self-nominating himself upon doing some research onto the awards.

He said: “I thought I’d test drive the awards before asking anyone else to do it.

“I won the regional one, got put through to the national judging and then got through to the top 3 and the evening in London.”

Adam was crowned the winner of the Royal Navy Award for Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year at the 18th annual awards, beating competitors from Rolls Royce and IBM.

He said: “I didn’t know until the evening!

“I was quietly confident going into it before seeing who I was up against from Rolls Royce and IBM, huge companies.

“I was even more surprised when I did win, and it felt amazing.”

Adam’s family expressed their joy, with auntie Julie saying how she is so proud.

His work colleagues also congratulated his successes.

Strictly Come Dancing and BBC star Dan Walker returned to host the Awards for a second year.

Apprentices at all levels and from sectors including retail and commercial to engineering and manufacturing sectors were announced as winners.

Ten winners and 18 highly commended finalists were recognised from across all nine English regions.

To see the full list of winners, visit gov.uk and search for National Apprenticeship Awards.