Danny Fitzgerald, a HSS modern apprentice, has won the European Social Fund 'London Achiever of the Year' award.

The inaugural ESF awards are intended to showcase the talents, skills and employment-related achievements of those receiving ESF support across London and were presented by the Deputy Mayor of London at City Hall last week.

Having been excluded from school and getting involved in crime and recreational drug use, Danny was encouraged to turn his life around by enrolling on a structured training course, offered by HSS and their east London charity partner, City Gateway, and co-funded by the ESF.

To provide him with the skills he needed to achieve formal employment, Danny received training in Customer Service, Sales, IT and Employability and gained an NVQ2. He went on to complete an apprenticeship at HSS Hire and now has a full time job at the hire company’s Hackney branch.

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Selwyn Amos, from HSS Training, who co-ordinates the apprentice scheme, said: "We're delighted that Danny has received this recognition. He worked really hard on the course and during his apprenticeship so we were only too pleased to offer him a full time job. It totally sums up what the partnership with City Gateway is all about and why we get involved."

City Gateway's CEO, Eddie Stride, added: "We'd like to congratulate Danny for the effort he has put into our programmes and to HSS for supporting the training and offering the apprenticeship. It's a great example of the huge impact we can have on an individual’s life when we work together and Danny has become a peer role model of success within the community."

Danny said: "I was involved in a lot of bad things but then I was persuaded to start on the training course. I felt a bit out of place at first as I hadn’t been in a classroom since I got kicked out of school but I enjoyed it and it went well.

"Now I’ve achieved a full time job which I’ve never had before and I've also got a scaffolding qualification. I know I won’t be getting back involved in drug dealing ever - I always want to be in work now."

(CD/KMcA)