CDE boast apprentice of the year finalist
James Kee, an engineering apprentice with CDE Global in Cookstown, recently made the finals of the Apprentice of the Year Awards. The Awards are organised by the Department of Employment and Learning (DEL) to recognise the achievements of those currently undertaking apprenticeship training across all sectors in Northern Ireland.
After being shortlisted to the final six out of 7000 apprentices James attended the grand final in Riddel Hall Belfast on Wednesday 20th May 2015, along with Sean Kerr, Engineering Manager CDE Global. James said: “To be part of the Apprentice of the Year Awards was a huge pleasure and I was over the moon to get as far as I did. The whole day was a great success and the people that the judges had chosen to be the last six were very talented and fully deserving of their place. I was very proud to be representing CDE and South West College as a product of the Apprenticeship scheme. The awards ceremony itself was great, having the opportunity to meet other apprentices from all over Northern Ireland and to meet such influential people such as Pete Snodden and David Meade was a pleasure. I feel the whole awards scheme was a great success and all six finalists were winners to get as far as they did.”
During this event James addressed the audience to speak about the types of projects he has been involved in at CDE, one of the leading suppliers of washing equipment for quarries and mines on the global market. James who is in year two of his four year apprenticeship programme also spoke about his future career plans. Sean Kerr, CDE Global, congratulated James on his achievement saying, “Getting this far in the competition is a testament to James talent, skill and commitment to his career. I believe all the finalists are winners, to be shortlisted from a possible 7000 is something to be proud of. James plays a key role within our design team, we have no doubt James will have a long and successful career here at CDE. “
