The Land-based Engineering – Training and Education Committee (LE-TEC Ltd) has announced the winners of the Technicians for 2022 competition, designed to find and celebrate the UK’s best technicians in the land-based sector.
Entrants submitted a short video talking about themselves; who they were, how long they had been a technician and why they enjoy their job day-to-day.
The LE-TEC Ltd judging panel was a collaboration of representatives from the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE), British Agricultural and Garden Machinery Association (BAGMA) and the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) alongside industry independents.
Ruth Bailey, CEO of the AEA, explained the initiative behind the competition: “Recruitment, as within many industries, has been difficult for several years, and our industry is an absolute gem but one that is little-known outside of the industry. We were looking for someone who conveyed the magic of our sector and someone who embodied the message that we want to get across to those outside of our circles.
“These technicians really show what it means to them. We’ve found some fantastic champions for our industry over the last three years of this competition and now can include three more. We cannot wait to work with them further.”
Keith Christian, director of BAGMA, said: “Technicians provide the underlying fabric within the UK dealer network for agricultural, groundcare and garden machinery. The unique aspects and importance of the dealer network is their ability to provide service and support for the equipment they sell through their technicians who will mostly be highly qualified through their apprenticeship training and product training.
“Technicians of all ages and abilities provide the backbone of the land-based engineering industry with nearly 50% of dealer staff being involved in the technical side of the business and they should be recognised through award schemes at all levels.”
The winners
- 3rd place – Craig Farmer, winner of a 70-piece Sealey toolkit provided by Kubota UK
- 2nd place – Brad Smith, winner of a Makita UK radio and a BAGMA Handover and Installation training for two, to be held at Merlo UK
- 1st place – James Hood, winner of a Karcher pressure washer and a multi-day Air Conditioning training courses with AP Air Ltd.
All three winners also receive 18 months of membership to IAgrE.
Charles Nicklin, CEO of IAgrE, remarked on James’ winning video: “A great example of how with passion and the right attitude, this industry can take you far”
All three videos display an incredible passion for their work and just how rewarding a career in land-based engineering can be, according to the organisation.
Mr Hood started in the industry as an apprentice in 2003 at Robert Davies Machinery in Shropshire, before progressing to Manitou UK in 2018. He said: “Winning the LE-TEC competition has highlighted how much I would like to give back to the industry and promote agricultural engineering to the younger generation because the industry is in need of a big injection of youth talent right now.”
Mr Smith commented: “It feels great to win this award because it shows that the hard work and good work ethic can really get you places in this agricultural industry.”
The competition will return in December 2022.