The WEC Group, a Darwen based company who offer apprenticeships in welding and fabrication, held their eighth annual Apprentice of the Year awards on Thursday November 29.

The awards ceremony, which celebrated 2018's successful apprentices, was held at at Ewood Park and was attended by the Deputy Mayor of Blackburn Cllr Jim Shorrock, Deputy Consort Mr Mark Joyce, and Mayor of Darwen Roy Davies.

Apprentice Awards were given for various categories including Outstanding Academic Achievement, Technical Production Excellence and Commitment, as well as the coveted Apprentice of the Year title.

And this year, Apprentice of the Year awards went to George Hawkey and Luke James.

WEC Group Training and Development Manager, Kris Mercer, said: "This year’s awards were quite possibly the best yet. We have an extremely talented group of apprentices and choosing the winners was especially difficult this time around.

"It is incredibly important for us, as a company, to celebrate and reward our apprentices for their hard work and commitment."

On November 28, the WEC Group were also awarded a Highly Commended in the National Apprenticeship Awards in London.

Mr Mercer added: "Having already been named winner at the regional competition earlier this year, the success at the National Apprenticeship Awards 2018 is testament to the excellent apprenticeship programme that is provided by WEC."