1st April 2025
Markel Direct announce the three winners of The Nation’s A* Trades Apprentice Award 2025
10th April 2025
Three apprentices, all coming from different skilled trades and areas of the UK, have been announced as winners of The Nation’s A* Trades Apprentice Award 2025.
The award, run by Markel Direct, the specialist tradespeople insurer, aims to celebrate the outstanding work trades apprentices all over the UK are doing within their workplace, whilst also highlighting the important role apprentices play in the future of the construction industry.
After careful consideration, the three winners – Gabbi Day, Ben Mills and Chris Wilson – were selected by a judging panel of Rob Rees, Divisional Director of Markel Direct, James Wilson, Marketing Manager of Festool, and Robin Clevett, carpenter and host of the Carpentry Show on Fix Radio.
The winners of The Nation’s A* Trades Apprentice Award 2025 are:
Chris Wilson, an apprentice carpenter and joiner from Birmingham, was nominated by his employer, Rafael Rose James of RRJ Carpentry and Joinery Ltd. Rafael shared: “Chris continues to go above and beyond my expectations, his work ethic is a breath of fresh air. He has made me want to not just be the best teacher I can for him, but to also push the company into new heights taking on bigger and better jobs as we progress together.”. After receiving the award, Chris commented: “I felt very honoured and privileged knowing that Rafael thinks of me in high regards, and it makes me feel like all my hard work has been recognised.”.
Gabbi Day, a roofing apprentice from Chesterfield, was nominated by her employer Philip Dalton, managing director of Dalton Roofing. Philip said “Gabbi is a great role model for young women: she comes with a smile on her face every day. She asks questions and is constantly wanting to learn.”. Gabbi shared that being nominated was a massive achievement for her, and how winning the development package is going to help her progress at work, especially as it is difficult to know and purchase the tools you often need as an apprentice.
Ben Mills, a mature plumbing apprentice at Warwickshire College, received a nomination from his college mentor, Amanda Bodycote, who shared: “As a mature student, Ben has faced challenges along the way, however, he has always made time to support his peers, being the person which everyone looks to for guidance.”. On winning the award, Ben said: “Winning the prize is really going to help me with my work as I’ll have better quality tools which I can become comfortable with, and hopefully improve my competency.”.
All three winners received a development package consisting of: a Festool toolkit and accessories worth £4,000, 24-hour tools cover for a year from Markel Direct worth £294, and a £750 voucher to spend on trades clothing at workwear and tools provider ITS.
After taking part in the judging panel, Rob Rees commented: “The quality of this year’s nominations was outstanding and, on behalf of the judges, I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to nominate an apprentice. Choosing the three winners was incredibly difficult, as so many nominations illustrated the invaluable contribution that apprentices make to the trades and construction industry. Winning this award is a great achievement for Gabbi, Chris and Ben, and I’d like to congratulate them all on the fantastic achievements in their careers so far.”.
Fellow judge, Robin Clevett, spoke on the importance of the apprenticeships in the trades sector: “Apprentices are so important for our workforce going forward, we need so many new entrants to come into the industry, yet for an apprentice it can be so hard to start sometimes as there’s barriers we need to overcome … it’s almost our moral duty as experienced tradespeople to pass on our knowledge to apprentices.”.
To find out more about the apprentices’ achievements, and the judges’ comments, visit https://www.markeluk.com/apprentice.
