Young mechanic Luke Reynolds has won a senior role with local garage Gregg Little Testing Centre after being awarded Aycliffe Business Park’s Apprenticeship of the Year award.
The teenager beat off competition from apprentices at the likes of Gestamp Tallent and Hitachi Rail Europe to scoop the accolade at the Make Your Mark business awards event, held at the Xcel Centre in Newton Aycliffe.
And it came as a double celebration after the 19-year-old was handed a permanent role as technician and transport manager with the Aycliffe family-run firm after completing his apprenticeship.
The Make Your Mark judges singled Luke – pictured (above, right) with senior technician Norman Travers – out after being impressed by his attitude in taking on parenthood as well as work.
He and his partner Emily have two children – Tyler and Dylan – and Gregg Little Testing Centre’s business development manager Emma Little said: “What’s impressed us most about Luke has been his dedication to work and family life at such a young age.
“Luke couldn’t even pick up his award at the Make Your Mark event because his little one wasn’t very well and he wanted to look after him.
“For someone so young, to take on such a big commitment, is really admirable. He’s really committed and motivated and grown up really quickly, and he’s a really big asset to the business.
“He’s now a fully-qualified and competent mechanic who knows what he’s talking about, and we’re very proud of what he’s achieved.”
Luke started working for Gregg Little Testing Centre two days a week when he was still at school as part of a training programme before starting his apprenticeship three years ago.
“I really like working here,” he said. “It’s enjoyable and every day is different.
“I didn’t know Emma had put me in for an award so I was really pleased when I found out.”
Gregg Little Testing Centre was set-up by Gregg Little in 1989 and the firm has grown to a 15-man team today.
The family firm – which offers MOTs, services and repairs for all types of cars – recently announced two popular payment schemes for customers, which enables them to spread the cost of their motoring bills over a period of several months.
“We’re continually looking for ways to make keeping cars on the road as easy as possible,” said senior technician Norman Travers.
“As we’re a family-run local garage, we have hundreds of regular customers from Newton Aycliffe and surrounding areas and we know them all personally, which makes schemes like this easy for us to introduce.
“So anyone who is worried about an upcoming service or a repair that’s needed on their car doesn’t need to worry about trying to find the lump sum on the spot, with these new options which we’re sure will make life easier for a lot of people.”
• Motorists can contact Gregg Little Testing Centre on 01325 321621, email [email protected] or call in at 6 Leaside, Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe, DL5 6HZ.