LE-TEC announce the winners of their Technicians For 2023 competition
The Land-based Engineering - Training and Education Committee (LE-TEC Ltd) has announced the winners of their Technicians For 2023 competition. Designed to find and celebrate the UK’s best Technicians in the Land-based Engineering sector, entrants submitted a short video explaining a little bit about themselves: who they were, how long they have been a Land-based Technician and why they enjoy their day-to-day job.
As an industry collaboration, the LE-TEC Ltd judging panel consisted 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. Aiming to highlight the skills and passion for the sector, the judges were extremely impressed by the honesty shown in the entries received and after much deliberation they shortlisted their top three.
1st Place – Callum Adams winning a STIHL 100 Plus Control Pressure Washer - pictured
2nd Place – Shannon Howe winning a Makita UK Job Site Radio MR003GZ
3rd Place – Paul Thomson winning a Makita UK 221 Piece Tool Kit E-10883
Charlie Nicklin, CEO of IAgrE said, “After some tough decisions on choosing our top 3 from the numerous entries, it’s great to announce and celebrate these fantastic young people progressing their careers as technicians in our Industry.”
Upon hearing of his win, Callum commented, “Getting recognition for the hard work we put in to this industry is a great feeling. I’m excited to able to share my story and showcase land-based engineering to a wider audience and that next generation of talent!”
Gareth Ford from the We Are Land-based Engineering campaign of which these three winners will all feature in the coming months said, “Unearthing more incredible talent in our industry is what this competition does best. I’m excited to meet with all three of the winners and let them tell their stories in a little more detail. Together they can help to attract new talent to our industry”.
The competition will return for its 5th year in 2024.
About the Land-based Engineering – Training and Education Committee
The Land-based Engineering - Training and Education Committee (LE-TEC Ltd), a Private Company Limited by Guarantee, is sponsored by three main industry bodies: The Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA), British Agriculture and Garden Machinery Association (BAGMA) and the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE). Its aims are to promote training and education for people working with farm and horticultural machinery and associated areas.
As an industry collaboration, LE-TEC is looking to tackle one of the biggest current issues the agricultural and outdoor power equipment sectors face today: that of skills. The training and recruitment of youngsters for our industry, particularly in respect of attracting young talent into our manufacturing and retail base, is ever more critical. As an industry, we face a huge crisis in the skills gap if we do not start to look more pragmatically about enticing a new intake of recruits and then genuinely offering them a progressive career path which recognises skills and competence levels within the technicians and customer service-related roles.
