Solomons apprentice Carl Wright is on cloud nine after scooping the hotly contested Postgraduate Apprentice of the Year Award from the University College of Estate Management.

Carl picked up the prize at UCEM’s second annual Built Environment Apprenticeship Awards held in London last night (Thursday, February 9).

He was one of three finalists vying for the honour, which recognises the achievements and progress of apprentices working in the construction industry.

Carl was commended for his attitude and resilience while tackling Solomons’ tough and faced paced MSc Apprenticeship Plus Programme, which has been developed in partnership with UCEM. Achieving high grades and acing recent RICS Assessment of Professional Competency (APC) sign offs, he was also recognised for supporting his fellow apprentices at Solomons with empathy, understanding an optimism.

Carl said: “I was initially shocked to have made the shortlist for such a high-profile award, so I’m absolutely thrilled to have won what I can imagine was a very popular category!

“My apprenticeship journey so far has been challenging but I’m really enjoying taking it on and developing skills and experience that will help me to forge a successful career as a Quantity Surveyor. It’s been more than worth the time and effort. I’m really proud that all of this has been recognised within Solomons and at UCEM.”

Carl had a nine-year career in data analysis roles before deciding to take the plunge and embark on a new career path with Solomons. Part of the company’s first intake of apprentices in September 2021, he joined as an Assistant Quantity Surveyor based at our headquarters in Newton-le-Willows as part of the North West team.

Victoria Clements, People at Performance Manager at Solomons, said: “Everyone at Solomons is absolutely delighted for Carl. This prestigious award is fantastic recognition of his journey so far with us. Not only has he tackled the MSc qualifications head on, while juggling the extra in-house training we provide our apprentices and the invaluable on-the-job experience he is gaining working with one of our highly valued clients. During the 17 months he’s been with us, he’s also become a dad! He’s certainly packed a lot in! Carl is a delight to work with and a real rising star for the future – and a very worthy holder of the title Apprentice of the Year.”

The Solomons Europe MSc Apprenticeship Plus Programme includes a two-year MSc Quantity Surveying course, which if successfully navigated, leads to a further nine months of training and, subject to hitting targets, a shot at MRICS End Point Assessment and review. It holds the tantalising prospect of RICS Chartership in under three years.

In addition to a variety of in-house skills development workshops, the programme is also supplemented with relevant and varied on-the-job assignments. Click here to learn more about what our six apprentices are working on.

And click here catch up with their progress and Solomons’ apprenticeship journey.