Firebrand apprentice advances at National Apprenticeship Awards 2018

Thomas Mynott, who is undertaking the Level 4 Software Developer apprenticeship at Transport for London (TfL), has been named as one of the 10 finalists in the London region for the Higher Apprentice of the Year category in the National Apprenticeship Awards (NAA).

“I was shocked [to be nominated] – to be honest, I didn’t really know there were awards for this! I’ve just been doing what I enjoy,” says Tom, who started his career with TfL as an apprentice in 2015 and won the company’s internal Apprentice of the Year award in 2017.

Accelerating careers at TFL

Peter Svensson, Agile Development Lead and Tom’s apprenticeship mentor at TfL, explained how Tom’s abilities became evident because he was entrusted with real responsibility. “Tom was placed in a real project with deliveries and deadlines. He’s now leading some of the critical development in a team developing portfolio applications, playing a vital role within TfL. Seeing where he is now, his standing in the department, and the way he conducts himself is just amazing, knowing where he started three years ago.”

Tom’s support for other apprentices is as vital to his success as his first-class technical skills. “Tom’s remarkable development in the apprenticeship scheme has made him a role model and somewhat of a go-to person for the other apprentices” says Peter. “This is invaluable in…transforming how we develop, encourage, and embed our young talent into TfL.”

Going above and beyond

Kevin Brown, Firebrand’s Learning Mentor working with Tom on his Level 4 apprenticeship, confirms that it’s Tom’s skills which give him such standing among his peers. “His first project covered around 90 per cent of the technical criteria for the apprenticeship, which is amazing. I’ve set him a further piece of work to complete by September – if he meets that deadline it’ll be a record time for an apprentice to complete their portfolio. He’s set the standard for everyone else!”

The winners of the NAA regional Apprentice of the Year awards will be announced at local ceremonies between 11th and 26th September. Regional winners are shortlisted for the overall Apprentice of the Year, who will be revealed at the national ceremony in London on November 28th.