A 20-year-old apprentice from Reading has earned a major industry award at an awards ceremony in Winchester on March 17.

Kenny Thompson was awarded Apprentice of the Year at the Federation of Master Builders’ (FMB) 2023 Southern Counties Master Builder Awards, sponsored by Openreach.

Martin Fosbrook, Kenny’s boss at Reading firm Biocraft Ltd, nominated him for the prize in recognition of his outstanding portfolio of work and can-do attitude.

Kenny Thompson said:  “The award was a huge surprise and gave me lots of confidence in my work and it is great to have my hard work recognised by not only my supportive boss but everyone at the Master Builder Awards too. I felt very proud of myself and it gave me a chance to reflect on how much my work has changed from the beginning of my apprenticeship to now thanks to my work team, colleges, and also Martin Fosbrook, the Managing Director.

"There aren’t many events like this for tradesmen so it was very refreshing. I had a great night and it was lovely seeing other company’s work too and being in a room full of people who can relate to my work is amazing.” 

The awards recognise excellence in the region’s small and medium-sized construction companies and are run by the FMB, the largest trade association in the UK construction sector.

Chief Executive of the FMB, Brian Berry, said: “It’s fantastic to see the sheer skill and quality achieved by all of our Southern Counties Master Builder Award entries this year. Kenny is a credit to his company and a worthy winner of this year’s Apprentice of the Year Award, which is always one of my favourites.”

Kenny started out as a labourer for the company before pursuing an apprenticeship in carpentry with Reading College and Activate Enterprise. He is due to receive his NVQ Level 2 in July this year. 

Biocraft Ltd said that, in 20 years of employing apprentices, they had never seen anyone with Kenny’s level of application to his work, studies and personal life – including his passion for drumming in local indie rock and soul band Bad Neighbours. Kenny recently played and organised a concert for a children’s cancer charity, Alice’s Arc.

Kenny will now be entered into the national Master Builder Awards in London in September, sponsored by Isuzu.