A 19-year-old apprentice from ChassisCab, the Suffolk and Cambridgeshire-based DAF vehicle dealership, has collected two national accolades in recognition of his work the company’s Bury St Edmunds site.

Andrew Baber, who lives in Bury and is part of the DAF Trucks National Dealer Apprenticeship scheme, was honoured as first year winner in the scheme’s 2014 awards programme.

He received a cheque for £300, a tool voucher and a tool trolley as his prize after demonstrating his practical skills to judges from DAF’s training partner, Skillnet, and the City of Bristol College, where he studies on a block-attendance basis as part of his three-year apprenticeship.

The second accolade came in the form of an invitation to join the Industry Apprentice Council (IAC), the national voice of industry apprentices, which saw him travel to the Houses of Parliament in Westminister to meet the Government’s Apprenticeship Ambassador to Business, Gordon Birtwistle MP.

In his new role as a member of the IAC, Andrew was able to give feedback on his experience as an apprentice starting out within the truck sector, and discuss changes he would like to see implemented to apprenticeship training in the future.

The IAC consists of just 14 apprentices aged from 18 to 24 from companies including Airbus, BAE Systems, Ford Dealerships, Nestlé and Vauxhall.

Robert Baxter, dealer principal at ChassisCab, said: “We are immensely proud of Andrew for winning the award of best first year apprentice at the recent national skills assessment day. It shows he has what it takes to excel as a truck technician in the very first year of his training, and as such is a credit to the team here in Bury St Edmunds.

“His involvement with the Industry Apprenticeship Council will give him further insights into the world of training and development and should give him some exceptional communications qualities to serve him throughout his career.”

Andrew who joined ChassisCab during 2013 after studying light vehicle maintenance at West Suffolk College for two years, said: “I am delighted that I have hit the ground running with my apprenticeship at ChassisCab.

“I think I must have inherited the genes to be a mechanic as both of my grandfathers were involved in the transport sector – one as a technician and one in sales. This recent national recognition will only motivate me further to do my very best in the future.”

ChassisCab is a family owned business that has been the main DAF dealer for Suffolk since the early 1990s and DAF Service Dealer for Cambridgeshire since 2006. Starting out as a commercial vehicle accident repair centre, ChassisCab has grown to become one of the premier dealers for DAF and a leading supplier of trucks in the region, now with sites at Bury St Edmunds, Great Blakenham, near Ipswich, Cambridge and Isleham, in Cambridgeshire, employing nearly 160 people.