A father of two who left school with no qualifications is Apprentice of the Year for Warehousing and Logistics

A warehousing and logistics apprentice, who left school with no qualifications, has been named among apprentices of the year by Cambridge Regional College.

Michael Northfield, 31, of Trumpington, is the Warehousing and Logistics Apprentice winner in the annual awards which celebrate excellent employers and employees from across the region.

Michael, who works for Camlab, said: “I was quite nervous going back to learning after 15 years since leaving school.

“It was nerve-wracking, but I would say to anyone, go for it. Don’t let fear hold you back to achieving something. It’s never too late to learn.

“I left school with no qualifications so wanted to make up for it now. A family bereavement at the critical age coming up to GCSEs knocked me. It meant I never managed to settle down to learn and didn’t do well.

“As I got older I realised you need to have qualifications to get on in your job, so I was glad of the opportunity to buckle down and study. When our boss at Camlab asked if anyone wanted to do the apprenticeship qualification I decided to go for it.

“I’m really glad to have done this for myself and for my career, I found learning quite a challenge at first but my assessor was brilliant and really understanding. I got a lot of support from my assessor and also support and time from my workplace.

“It was completely unexpected to be named a winner but am really pleased. I may try to go to the next stage and get my Level 3.”

Michael began his apprenticeship at the end of 2018 and completed the qualification by October 2019.