TECHNICIANS FOR 2021 WINNERS ANNOUNCED

The Land-based Education and Training Committee (LE-TEC Ltd) have announced the top 3 winners of their Technicians For 2021 competition.

Designed to celebrate and find the UK’s best technicians in the land-based engineering sector, entrants were asked to submit a short video explaining three aspects of themselves:

• who they were,
• what inspired them to become a land-based technician
• and why they enjoy their day-to-day job so much.

The winners picked by the judges were Laura Bassnet in first place, Lauren Savage in second place and Chris Laidler in third place.

LE-TEC say all three videos displayed incredible passion for their work and illustrated just how rewarding a career in land-based engineering can be. Each will receive prizes which are detailed below each of their videos on this page.

1st Place - Laura Bassnet

Winner of both a Stanley FATMAX Technicians Suitcase provided by Toolbank and a multi-day training course provided by AP Air Ltd 

As an industry collaboration, the LE-TEC Ltd judging panel consisted of the Institution of Agricultural Engineers (IAgrE), British Agricultural and Garden Machinery Association (BAGMA) and the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA). Aiming to highlight the skills and passion for the sector, the judges say they were overwhelmed by the content of some of the superb entries received, and after much deliberation they settled on a top three.

Ruth Bailey, CEO of the AEA explained the initiative behind the competition, saying, “Recruitment for us, as within many industries, has been difficult in recent years. Our industry is an absolute gem but one that is little-known outside of industry circles. These three winners will be fantastic champions for our industry, showcasing the major talent and ambition that is represented throughout the sector. We cannot wait to work with them further.”

Charles Nicklin, CEO of IAgrE added, “Our industry is such a great place to work, we are surrounded by sophisticated highly productive machinery enabling customers to run their operations efficiently. Service backup and product support are essential elements of this, and that needs top quality professional technicians performing these roles. The top three technicians we have selected are fantastic examples of people working in our exciting industry and I wish them well in their careers.”

Keith Christian, Director of BAGMA said, “With around 48% of dealer staff employed in the technical side of the industry, the wealth of experience, level of professionalism and technical ability that technicians offer to UK users of equipment in the land-based sector is on a par with all other engineering-based industries in the UK.”

2nd Place - Lauren Savage

Winner of Sealey Tools 100pc Mechanics Tool Kit donated by Kubota UK 

Great stories to tell

Charles Nicklin remarked on Laura’s winning video, “A great example of a professional dynamic person embarking on a career in our industry. Her personable confident approach will be a great asset to her employer in providing a professional customer service”.

Ruth Bailey said of the winners, “All the judges felt that the entrants had a great story to tell and told it with real passion and sincerity. The judges were looking for several things from the video submissions: how someone started their career; what type of equipment they were working with; what excited them about their job and how the candidate had either progressed or could see themselves progressing. They were looking for how they presented themselves, how they related with the audience and how their style could engage with an audience that LE-TEC is looking to capture. All three of our winners were able to deliver on this.” 

3rd Place - Chris Laidler

Winner of a Makita Cordless Impact Drill 

Competition winner Laura said, "I am delighted to have been acknowledged as an upcoming technician in this progressive industry. It just goes to show with the right leadership and opportunities presented you can turn your ambitions into a career".

Keith Christian concluded, “As an industry collaboration, LE-TEC is looking to tackle one of the biggest current issues the agricultural and outdoor power equipment sectors face today: that of skills. The training and recruitment of youngsters for our industry, particularly in respect of attracting young talent into our manufacturing and retail base, is ever more critical. As an industry, we face a huge crisis in the skills gap if we do not start to look more pragmatically about enticing a new intake of recruits and then genuinely offering them a progressive career path which recognises skills and competence levels within the technicians’ and customer service-related roles.” 

LE-TEC say they hope to run this competition on an annual basis.