A Pembrokeshire student has been named one of the engineering construction industry’s brightest and best, at an awards ceremony celebrating industry leaders and the rising stars of tomorrow.

Pembrokeshire College student Jordan Palmer won Scholar of the Year at the 11th engineering construction industry (ECI) Training and Development Awards, celebrated at a prestigious awards ceremony at the Cutty Sark in London on Thursday night.

Jordan fought off stiff competition to win Scholar of the Year after proving himself as an exceptional talent in welding and fabrication and demonstrating truly inspirational qualities.

“His passion for his craft and willingness to share knowledge make him an outstanding candidate,” said an ECI judge.

Jordan has achieved success in Pembrokeshire’s regional welding competition and won a silver medal in this year’s Inspiring Skills Wales Welding Competition finals and was selected to represent Wales in the 2022/23 UK Skills final.

Jordan’s dedication to personal growth has led to an apprenticeship at Rhyal Engineering.

Arwyn Williams, Head of Faculty for Engineering and Computing at Pembrokeshire College, accepted the award on behalf of Jordan who was unable to attend the event.

“Jordan is so dedicated to his studies,” he said. “He’s so keen and talented in engineering.

“He’s a welder and fabricator and, to be honest, we struggle to get him out of the welding bays because he’s so keen on cracking on and gaining his skills.

“We’ve been working closely with the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and the scholarship programme is one example of where we’ve brought lots of young people in to supply skills and training to bring talented individuals into the sector.”

The 11th ECI Training and Development Awards, organised by ECITB, brought together industry leaders, influencers and policymakers, as well as the rising stars of tomorrow, at a ceremony hosted by engineer, broadcaster, teacher and STEM advocate, Kate Bellingham.

Chief Executive Andrew Hockey stressed that industry’s most valuable assets are its people, both those at the start of their journeys like the scholars, apprentices and graduates honoured those ‘whose journeys have paved the way for those that follow’.

“I would like to congratulate all the winners and finalists who are great examples of the success stories from across industry over the past year,” he said. “They exemplify the talent, innovation, resilience and endeavour that our industry holds in such high regard, setting standards to which we all aspire.

Lynda Armstrong, Chair of the ECITB Board, added: “I would like to congratulate everyone honoured and thank our generous sponsors who made the event possible.

“The organisations and individuals have the capacity to influence positive change through innovation, knowledge, skills and collaboration. In essence, the world needs you to do what engineers have always done best, which is to build something better than what came before.”