A COLEFORD woman has just been crowned as one of the best electrical apprentices in the UK.

Samantha Jones, 26, was voted as the region’s of the best performing apprentices by one of the UK’s leading training providers for young people in England and Wales, JTL.

At the organisation’s annual awards ceremony in London the finalists – all first place winners in their respective regions – were chosen from JTL’s current cohort of 6,000 learners to compete for the accolade of ‘Electrical Apprentice of the Year’.

Samantha won the 2015 crown for the Southern region and was presented with her award by JTL Chief Executive, Jon Graham.

Mr Graham said: “It was a difficult process to pick out one exceptional candidate person from what is, without doubt, an outstanding group of candidates as we look after thousands of learners each year.”

Samantha, who completed her apprentice with Melvin John Electrical Contracting, hopes to gain additional electrical qualifications and, in the long term, wants to pursue a career in the design aspect of electrical installations.

During her apprenticeship, Samantha worked four days a week on site and studied at Gloucester College on the remaining day.

“Being a finalist at the national JTL Awards has been a highlight of my career so far and I was immensely proud to make it that far, especially as the only female finalist,” says Samantha.

“For me, there’s no substitute for experience and that is what I gained during my four year apprenticeship. After competing my apprenticeship with JTL, I feel a great sense of achievement but I also feel I have a good foundation to build on and further my education. I would highly recommend the apprenticeship route to anyone – it’s a great way to learn a trade and earn a wage at the same time.”