A YOUNG man from Castle Morris is to be recognised for his professionalism and ability to take on highly complex tasks at the Polymer Apprentice of the Year awards.

Charlie Thomas, an apprentice with St Davids Assemblies, will be recognised by the Worshipful Company of Horners and the British Plastics Federation (BPF) at a ceremony later this year.

The former Pembrokeshire College student narrowly missed out on first place with the judges describing the calibre of entrants this year as exceptional.

Charlie was put forward for this award by his employer and his lecturers at Pembrokeshire College where he undertook his apprenticeship.

Throughout the nomination and judging process, he impressed the judges with his ability to take tasks on and continuously exceed expectations being trusted to carry out highly complex machining activities with either no or minimal supervision.

Charlie's work with clients was of particular interest to the judges who noted a level of professionalism and experience that goes far beyond his years.

He has worked alongside Falcon to re-design one of their oven knobs and is currently working with Keywing on a product to make a turning device for people with arthritis.

Charlie has already significantly enhanced the client's product and continues to work to find the optimum design which will minimise production costs for the client whilst increasing.

"Since starting in the tool room Charlie has produced work to an excellent standard," said St Davids Assemblies General Manager, Glen Wells.

"He is working in a highly skilled industry where accuracy and attention to detail are of paramount importance. In many instances there is zero tolerance, Charlie is unfazed by this and goes above and beyond what we would expect from an apprentice on a daily basis.

"At the end of each apprenticeship programme our expected outcome is an employee who has all the skills and knowledge to help our business to grow. We aim to develop our apprentices to push boundaries, challenge the norm and develop processes that will keep us at the cutting edge of our industry. Charlie is already showing the potential to be a great addition to our team".