Rowen pilots Apollo mission at World Skills

Apollo technician Rowen Small has been selected as a World Skills UK finalist for 2019.

The 20-year-old based at Apollo Motor Group Cheltenham has just completed his Level 3 body repair apprenticeship through the Remit Group.

He was nominated for World Skills by his Remit development coach and in June he joined 18 other technicians in the body repair category, designed to whittle the contestants down to six.

He will now join the successful contestants at the UK national finals at the NEC in Birmingham this November.

Rowen said, ‘World Skills UK was a really great experience, and having been nominated for it by my Remit development coach, I was really chuffed to be there. It was all stuff that we have done before at work. But there is this extra focus on PPE and the right tools, and making sure everything’s done within a particular time frame. Thanks to my training at Remit’s Academy in Derby and the support given to me by Apollo, I felt pretty confident in completing the tasks they set me.’

Rowen’s manager, Darran Morris, said, ‘We currently have two apprentices in Cheltenham, and we’re very happy with them both. Rowen was my first apprentice to go to World Skills and I’m really proud of him. When he first came to us, Rowen had lost a lot of his confidence following a bad experience with another company, which had been upsetting for him.

‘We’ve worked with Remit to support Rowen and build his confidence and he’s really flourished. It’s a really big thing for Rowen, doing so well to be nominated to enter the World Skills competition, and completing his apprenticeship to such a good standard. We’re really proud of him and his fellow apprentice James.’