Sarah Stockley (24) from Erith joined London South East Colleges in 2020 to take up a demolition apprenticeship with Erith Ltd.
She completed the standard in the summer - becoming the first person in the UK to do so - and achieved a distinction. Sarah is also the first female to undertake this apprenticeship, with London South East Colleges being the first provider to offer it.
Sarah is a fantastic advocate for encouraging other women to consider a career within the construction industry. She also received double-recognition within the industry earlier this year, winning the National Demolition Training Group Apprentice of the Year award and an accolade from the National Federation of Demolition Contractors.
Commenting on Sarah's exceptional achievements, London South East Colleges' Deputy Principal for adults, apprenticeships and HE, Neil Coates, says:
"We are so proud of Sarah and her fantastic achievements. Her resilience and perseverance throughout her course have been remarkable and she is a fantastic ambassador for both apprenticeships and for women in construction.
"Her hard work has paid off, not only with achieving a distinction in her qualification but now with recognition nationally of her success.
"Congratulations to Sarah. She's a brilliant role model and I'm sure she will inspire a whole new generation of women into exciting careers."
Speaking about Sarah's apprenticeship achievement, Operations Director at the Erith Group, Grant Styles, says:
"Throughout Sarah's apprenticeship she has constantly been interested in progressing her skills and learning all the different roles within the projects she has worked on.
"Embracing every challenge and setting the apprentice bar very high. Sarah brings a lot of enthusiasm to work daily and has never been afraid to get her hands dirty, achieving so much within the last two years and becoming a valued team member of each and every project she works on.
"I have no doubt that Sarah will consistently improve and add to her skill set and will continue to be a valued asset to our demolition team here at Erith."
Sarah has featured in several media articles including the Sun, Construction News, Demolition Hub and Demolition and Dismantling Magazine.
Full list of AoC Student of the Year winners.
London South East Colleges offers a wide range of apprenticeships in a range of sectors. Visit www.lsec.ac.uk/apprenticeships