A Forth Valley Collage (FVC) student earned a top award after he and his peers completed the first year of a unique FVC and FES FM partnership training programme.

Building Services and Maintenance Modern Apprentice (MA) Stephen Lewis, along with his 10 classmates, have been working successfully with the Stirling based firm while studying at FVC’s Alloa Campus.

Stephen (20), from Stirling, was presented with a high specification cordless drill by Brian Brown, regional director at FES FM, for winning Modern Apprentice of the Year. Raising his new tool in the wake of his success, Stephen said it was great to win the award. He added: “The facilities here at Forth Valley College have been really good and I would definitely recommend the MA Programme here for anyone looking to work in this industry.

“After completing my apprenticeship with FES FM I intend to develop my career with them. They are a great company to work for and I really like the fact that there is a wide variety of sites and you get to use the full range of your skills.” The college’s partnership with the firm created a new, fully equipped Facilities Management National Training Centre, where up to 12 MAs – at least six from the Forth Valley area – can be trained to SVQ level 3 standard over four years.

FES FM, part of the FES group, is recognised as one of the leading independent service groups in the UK. To ensure workforce sustainability they are committed to recruiting 12 Building Services MAs from across the British Isles each year until 2017 and have teamed up with FVC to help train their new apprentices.

Frazer Meiklejohn, managing director of FES FM, said: “We are thrilled that the first batch of Apprentices have successfully completed their first year and congratulate them all in their achievement, with particular congratulations to our MA of the year Stephen Lewis.

“This bespoke Modern Apprenticeship and partnership with FVC provides our young recruits the opportunity to develop their skills within an educational environment and gain industry recognised qualifications.

“FES FM are fully committed to investing in the future of our employees and providing the best possible start to the careers of our apprentices.”