Morley teenager Luis Lowe will receive a year-long funded manufacturing apprenticeship at Heckmondwike-based 600UK thanks to the Town Foundation.

16 year-old Luis, a pupil at Morley Academy, was selected from over 50 applicants to be placed in the apprenticeship at the machine tool manufacturer and distributer, which counts BMW, Bosch, the Royal Air Force and Siemens among its impressive client base.

After inviting applications for the apprenticeship, which will be funded by the Town Foundation using proceeds from the Manufactured Yorkshire 13 exhibition in May 2013 (clickHERE for more info), a shortlist of 22 names was put forward by apprenticeship experts KITS of Brighouse.

The final three were selected in due course and attended meetings at 600 UK in Heckmondwike last week, from which Luis was selected as the outstanding candidate.

Luis is nearing the end of his final year at school and his passion for engineering and manufacturing, combined with impressive test results at KITS College, secured him the apprenticeship.

Town Foundation Trustee Dean Hoyle met Luis at 600UK on Tuesday to formally offer him the role; they are pictured above alongside the Town Foundation Trustee Stuart Bragan and Corporate Fundraising Officer Mandy Taylor, Manufactured Yorkshire 13 organiser Mark Young, 600 Group PLC Chief Executive Nigel Rogers and Howard Bamforth Sales Director.

Dean explained:

“We’re absolutely delighted that the charity is able to fund Luis’ year-long apprenticeship.

“His passion and desire to start a career in manufacturing really impressed us during the interview process and I believe the visit to 600UK’s impressive premises really opened his eyes to the opportunity he has been handed.

“Our ability to select and fund an apprentice for one year was made possible by the successful Manufactured Yorkshire 13 conference, which was held in collaboration with Hillrich and John Walton Machine Tools Ltd. The money generated from that has allowed us to place one young person from Kirklees into an apprenticeship for a year.

“However, that was only one part of the task and we’re delighted that we have got support from 600 UK, who will give Luis a fantastic opportunity to get on the job training and experience for up to four years.

“The charity’s aim is to make a difference to the lives of children and young people in our community and we this initiative will really impact in a very positive way. The standard of applicants was incredibly high and we feel the project will be of all-round benefit to everyone involved.”

For more information on the Town Foundation, please visit www.htafcfoundation.com