GRŴP Llandrillo Menai has been named the UK’s top engineering training partner at a prestigious awards ceremony.

The college group - which operates campuses at Rhos-on-Sea, Rhyl, Abergele and Colwyn Bay - beat rivals In-Comm Training and Skills Training UK to win ‘Training Partner of the Year’ category at the The Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies Alliance (Semta) Skills Awards 2019 at London’s Park Plaza.

The awards, which were sponsored by British engineering icon Rolls Royce, are held yearly in a bid to find the best British engineering companies from throughout the UK.

Dafydd Evans, chief executive officer of Grŵp Llandrillo Menai commented: “It’s an honour to be named ‘Semta Training Partner of the Year’ and it is a glowing endorsement of the contribution that Grŵp Llandrillo Menai has made to building a highly-skilled workforce in North West Wales.

“At Grŵp Llandrillo Menai we made a strategic decision to work closely with local employers, both large and small, to ensure that the young people training with us leave with not only excellent results, but also relevant industry-specific training and qualifications.

“We’ve achieved this goal through close collaboration with local specialist employers to deliver tailored apprenticeship schemes. We also have adapted existing training schemes by making bolt-on specialist courses available. Listening to our customers and being willing to make changes has been key to building trusted relationships.”

The victory recognises the group’s long established links with partner companies such as Innogy UK and Babcock International Group as well as its links with a plethora of local engineering firms which form the backbone of the engineering economy throughout North Wales.

Speaking at the event, Ann Watson, chief executive officer of Semta, commented: “There’s no other sector that can be as agile, as innovative, as world-leading and as world-beating as advanced manufacturing and engineering.

"It’s true, that one person can change the thought process of an industry. From Henry Ford to Bill Gates, engineers have been at the cutting edge of the greatest innovations of their time. We’re delighted that the future UK skills landscape has these pioneering employers, talented engineers and training providers like Grŵp Llandrillo Menai at its centre.”