Josh Ellis, an Exeter College plumbing apprentice from Exmouth, has been crowned the national VQ (Vocational Qualifications) Learner of the Year at a prestigious event in London this week.

Josh Ellis, who earlier in the year won the South West regional Learner of the Year, took the top spot this week in what is quite a year for the 21 year old. Josh started a level 2 apprenticeship with Exeter College and Exmouth based plumbing firm Westmancoat Plumbing and Heating in September 2012.

In November last year he won through the local and regional heats of the WorldSkills UK competition and, after heading to the NEC to participate in a gruelling three day skills challenge, scooped the WorldSkills UK Plumbing Gold medal at a glittering gala finale in front of thousands of competitors, industry representatives and skills judges. In the same year he was named Exeter College's Plumbing Apprentice of the Year.

Now his exceptional ability and hard work has been recognised by the Edge Foundation as VQ Learner of the Year part of the VQ Day celebrations – a national event that celebrates vocational achievement and the benefits of technical, practical and vocational learning to both the individual and the UK economy.

Reflecting on the VQ award which was presented by TV presenter Diarmuid Gavin, Josh said: “It's just nice to be recognised for all the hard work that I've put in. Doing an apprenticeship was definitely a better route for me than university as I'm much better at hands-on training. I would definitely recommend it to other people.”

In the citation read out to the audience at the awards ceremony including Lord Baker, MPs and industry leaders Josh was praised for his World Skills UK final achievement with his work deemed ‘near perfect' by the judges. The citation continued – “since then Josh has progressed to level 3 due to the exceptionally high standard of his work .. and he is successfully juggling a very high demand for his work with his further studies at college”.

Paul Sommers, Josh's employer at Westmancoat Heating and Plumbing in Exmouth is delighted that his small team are now sporting further national accolades. “Josh has been with us for nearly 3 years and came straight from school. He is an excellent member of the team and it's not just his technical plumbing skills which means he is an asset to us. We get lots of very positive comments from our customers who congratulate him on his general manner saying ‘it is a pleasure to have Josh working in our house'. He has exactly the right balance of personal and technical qualities I look for.”

Josh's tutor, Chris Bennett – Plumbing and Electrical Team Leader said “I'm really pleased that Josh has been recognised with yet another national award since this celebrates his hard work and exceptional ability. Josh has had an outstanding year and I was very proud to be with him at the WorldSkills UK competition when his technical skills and personal qualities under intense pressure earned him the prestigious UK World Skills Gold. Despite all these accolades Josh is a very modest apprentice, always willing to learn and open to new ideas and training – a real strength. He is always the first to help explain to other apprentices his work and skills and it is great that someone who doesn't ‘shout from the rooftops' has received this national award. He is a shining example of how successful apprenticeships can be when a keen trainee is supported by a partnership of committed employer and high quality college training.”