A HS2 apprentice has been named Project Management Apprentice of the Year at a prestigious awards ceremony.

Chris Sadler scooped the award at the Project Controls Expo at the Emirates Stadium in London on Wednesday 13 November.

He beat off competition from candidates across the oil and gas, construction, rail and defence sectors to claim the prize.

Chris joined HS2 in 2017, aged 18, as a project management apprentice, after studying A-Levels in Politics, Business and History.

Chris said: "I'd always known that the traditional University route wasn't for me, and the chance to join such an innovative and huge scale project like HS2 really was a dream come true. My first year working on the project has been amazing and I really didn't think it could get any better.


"I'm over the moon to be announced as the first ever Apprentice of the Year at the Project Controls Expo Awards. It was a proud moment to find that I'd been shortlisted, but going on to win is a feeling like no other."

Uma Shanker, Project Director at HS2 Ltd added: "Chris has worked incredibly hard in his first year. He continues to play an invaluable role project managing aspects of our main construction contracts linked to the delivery of Britain's brand new high speed railway between Birmingham and London."

Chris is also one of fifteen finalists shortlisted for the Rail Staff Awards Apprentice of the Year Award 2018. The winner will be announced on Thursday 29 November 2018 at The NEC, in Birmingham.

(CM/MH)