Carnegie College Student Makes Final of National Championship

Part-time Carnegie College student, John Stevens, 23, whose school report card said ‘he would go nowhere in life’, recently proved that he is going somewhere. John, who is employed by Fife Council Building Services, is currently undertaking SVQ Level 2/3 in Roofing, Slating and Tiling on block-release at Carnegie College’s Cowdenbeath campus, and was one of the 17 finalists from 500 nominated for the prestigious James Birnie Award for Craft Excellence 2008. Although he didn’t win, John was presented with a cheque and trophy, which he travelled to Glasgow to receive with a very proud mum. No stranger to awards, John was voted Apprentice of the Year in 2007 for roofing, and was runner-up Adult Apprentice with Fife Council this year. John received a joint nomination from employer Fife Council and trainer, Carnegie College. Tutor Ron Page said, ‘the current group of apprentices is one of the best we have ever had, and it is hard to single any one of them out, but John consistently maintains a high standard in hard work, attendance, attitude, respect and manners towards fellow students and staff, and shows a determination to do the best he can.’ Assistant Head of the School of Built Environment, Davy Spence, commented, ‘John has studied at Carnegie for almost two years, and from day one has been a model student, excelling in all his studies. His attitude towards his trade and fellow students is exemplar, and to be one of the top 17 in a competition that involved over 500 contestants from all over Scotland is a great achievement for John.’    John started his working life at Fife Council with a temporary summer job as a street cleaner, before moving on to loading dustbins. He gained a driving licence for HGV 1, and began to build up experience driving with a skip hire business. It was during one delivery to Fife Council premises that he heard they were looking for adult apprentices but the closing date was next day. Someone downloaded a form for him and he got his application in on time. While on holiday in Spain he heard that he had landed a Skills Test, however it was due to take place on the day he came back. Unfortunately that was the day that terrorists drove a jeep filled with explosives into Glasgow airport, so when his plane finally managed to land at 6.30 pm he rushed straight to the test centre in his holiday clothes, where he was given a paper boiler suit. He passed the Skills Test, and was taken on as an Adult Apprentice by Fife Council. John said, ‘Coming back to college was the best thing I ever did and the tutors at Cowdenbeath are great and I hope to go on to do an HNC. There are loads of opportunities to move upwards in the Council or who knows, I might come back to college as a tutor eventually. I was delighted to be nominated for this award, it’s really good when hard work is acknowledged.’ The James Birnie Award This award is now in its ninth year, initiated by former President of Scottish Building Federation, James Birnie MBE. This tribute serves to demonstrate and reward the significant skills acquired by dedicated and talented apprentices within the construction industry. He served his time as an apprentice Joiner with Alexander Hall, Aberdeen and progressed to become Managing Director of Hall & Tawse Limited. He was honoured with the MBE in 1999 for his services to working conditions for the industry as a whole.