This year, Hubert Pruszysnki won the Rising Star award from his training provider, Intec – an award given to a standout individual who has made exceptional progress in their job role while studying an apprenticeship programme. This is an amazing achievement – congratulations Hubert!
Lockdown has presented a unique set of challenges for young people entering the workforce, with the pandemic influencing available job roles, ways of working and apprenticeship delivery. Hubert has shown great resilience in adapting to these changes and his positive outlook and determination to succeed are the reasons why he’s been awarded Rising Star of the Year 2022.
‘Before joining Howdens, I had a part time job working in customer service for a large technology retailer. I joined the store during the first national lockdown and was sadly made redundant during the second lockdown.’ However, it didn’t take long for Hubert to bounce back: He was recruited by Intec to leading kitchen and joinery specialists, Howdens, as a part of their customer service team at the Boston branch.
Ambitious from the start, Hubert exemplifies what apprenticeships are all about: launching a successful career. ‘The University courses I looked at seemed knowledge-based and it wasn’t the right option for me. I wanted an experience that would help me learn new skills, develop my confidence, resilience and communication, and help me pursue a rewarding career in sales.’
Hubert has excelled on his Customer Service Practitioner Level 2 Programme: ‘In my previous role I felt like I didn’t have enough hands-on experience to develop the skills I wanted but through the apprenticeship and with the support of my colleagues, I have become more confident. I feel comfortable talking to others and am not afraid to ask questions which has helped me build new connections. I can’t stress enough how important this apprenticeship is for both my personal and professional development and how lucky I am to be working alongside amazing people who give me all the support I need.’
With this feedback in mind Intec also awarded Boston Branch Manager, Graham Allen, with a special commendation for his role as mentor to Hubert. Graham has seen Hubert go from strength to strength whilst on programme: ‘Hubert has taken on every challenge placed in front of him with an exemplary attitude. He has built fantastic relationships with staff and customers alike and cannot do enough to help all those around him. He has a fantastic work ethic and has a clear understanding of the value his actions have and how they all contribute to his own development and success. His ability to absorb information, a desire to do so, and ability to use it really is a credit to him, and I look forward to seeing how he develops further throughout his apprenticeship.’
His Intec Tutor, Yvonne Adams, echoes these sentiments: ‘It’s been amazing to see how proactive Hubert has been in his own professional development. He puts a lot of thought into the skills and knowledge he needs to serve customers and has spent any spare time he has working to develop himself further; be that through his apprenticeship, building his product knowledge as well as completing all the Howdens online academy modules. He is an outstanding apprentice and a real asset to the Howdens Team.’
