A 19-year-old apprentice Joiner from Biddulph has been named as the Unitas Apprentice of the Year 2022.

Ryan Steadman, who has been in role with the Stoke-on-Trent based repairs and maintenance company for three years, was chosen to receive the Tracy Chattin Award by a judging panel of Unitas board members, including Director, Wayne Booth.

The award was presented to Ryan by the Rt. Worshipful Lord Mayor of the City of Stoke-on-Trent, Faisal Hussain and Wayne Booth at a company ceremony in June.

It was Ryan's committed work ethic, eagerness to learn and drive to go above and beyond that landed him the Apprentice of the Year title, receiving some of the best feedback from his college and mentors that Unitas have seen.

Ryan has excelled in all areas of his training and development and recently took part in the Stoke-on-Trent DIY SOS project, where he gave up some of his own time and commitment to ensure the project was completed. He has also been supporting the Unitas environmental team making picnic benches and planters for staff to enjoy at the company's Cromer Road depot. 

Unitas Director, Wayne Booth, said: "Ryan's application was very strong with it demonstrating a wide range of skills that he had learned, a good consistent period of performance and excellent feedback from the college and his mentors. Ryan also did such a good job on the recent DIY SOS scheme working out of hours and going the extra mile without any prompting from the Unitas management team, which speaks volumes about his character.

"Since joining Unitas as an apprentice three years ago, he has consistently proved his dedication and enthusiasm for the role and delivering a great service to the community.

"Our apprenticeship programme is extremely important to us, and we place great value in developing and nurturing each and every one of our apprentices. The number and standard of applications we receive rises year on year which, in turn, is testament to the excellent reputation that Unitas has developed,"

On his apprenticeship, Ryan said: "Over the last year I feel I have perfected my joinery skills and am confident I can produce high quality works. I have also learned six other skills outside my trade and am now competent in them as well.

"My highlight over the past 12 months has been volunteering my time for the DIY SOS BIG build giving over 20 hours of my time. Another highlight was taking part in the environmental workshop making a nicer environment for the staff at Unitas."

Unitas Stoke-on-Trent currently has 15 apprentices working across Stoke-on-Trent, including electricians, joiners, plumbers, gas engineers, business administrators and health and safety – with seven of them nominated for the Tracy Chattin Award.

The Tracy Chattin Award was set up in 2019 in memory of former Unitas Corporate Social Responsibility Co-ordinator, Tracy, who played an integral role in setting up the 2019 apprenticeship scheme.