A former Stevenage apprentice at MBDA, is celebrating after being announced best in the South East region at an industry awards.

Melissa Garratt, 22, from Broadwater in Stevenage, scooped the title for Outstanding Achievement by a Final Year Apprentice at The Manufacturer Awards – widely recognised as the industry standard for engineering.

Melissa is now a qualified mechanical engineer at MBDA after completing a three-year apprenticeship at the company. Her award puts her in the final five for the national award, to be announced next year.

The judges said: “We were very impressed with the way this apprentice progressed, starting on her work experience programme. This was the beginning of a journey, which saw her build confidence and successfully become a professional engineer.”

Melissa said: “It’s a real honour to win this title as these awards are the industry benchmark for engineering. It’s also great to get some positive recognition for how valuable apprenticeships can be and the career paths they can lead to.”

Also in the spotlight on the awards night were Melissa’s colleagues, Jody Patrick and Danielle Calvert. Jody was runner-up in the Outstanding Achievement by a Final Year Apprentice category after recently finishing her business trainee programme, and Danielle, a second year Engineering Apprentice, was highly commended in the Outstanding Achievement by a First Year Apprentice category.