Halstead man wins Advanced Apprentice award and says apprenticeships are for anyone of any age
Tanveer Bajaj, 55, completed his level 3 qualification, and is now doing a level 5
Tanveer Bajaj, winner of the Advanced Apprentice award at the National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards 2025, says that his apprenticeship gave him a "unique opportunity" to improve his skills.
He says that "you are never too old to learn" and the qualification gave him an "immeasurable" benefit.
Tanveer battled cancer during his studies, but achieved a distinction. He now mentors new apprentices.
He trains Aircraft Dispatchers at Jet2.com, and works at Stansted Airport.
He said:
"I feel very, very humbled, very, very honoured to be recognised.
"I found it very interesting. Everyone learns at different speeds, and everyone has different dexterity. I learned a lot from the younger ones to be honest, because they are very quick to interpret things, and they're very tech savvy.
"There were days where I struggled, I'm not going to lie, where procrastination was the holder of the day.
"But there was an end goal, and that was to complete it, because I would have hated not to have finished it.
"The rewards that I've got are immeasurable for me.
"It's taught me that you're never too old to stop learning.
"I'll start my next apprenticeship now, so I've already started the learning journey. I've got the learning bug."
Tanveer recommends apprenticeships to anyone of any age, and re-iterated "you are never, ever too old to learn."
"It's a wonderful opportunity, it's an alternative way of learning.
"Absolutely I would go out of my way to recommend it to anyone."
He thanked a range of his colleagues, including Katie Rankin, Kerris Glynn, Laura Rigby, and Sarah Hebden.
Search Skills for Life to find more information on T Levels and the different technical pathways available. www.skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk