WINNER OF PRESTIGIOUS CONSTRUCTION NEWS SPECIALISTS AWARD
26th Sep 2023
Conor Dallas from Mivan, the luxury fit out and bespoke joinery specialist, won the Apprentice of the Year at the 2023 Construction News Specialists Awards.
The inspirational winners of the 2023 Construction News Specialists Awards were crowned in front of the industry on 7 September 2023, at the Hilton London Metropole.
Celebrating its 19th year, the Construction News Specialists Awards brought together more than 500 of the UK’s leading specialist contractors for an evening of celebration, recognition, and networking.
Following a rigorous judging process with an independent panel of judges, they said Conor shone as an inspirational character who is a role model to people inside and outside of the industry. They felt Conor was clearly a very talented craftsman who remains modest and focused despite all his recognition to date. The judges were excited to see what Conor will go onto achieve in his career.
Conor said he was totally shocked when his name was called out as the winner: “It was a ‘black tie’ dinner and I’d taken my jacket off. Just before the winners were to be announced, a couple of my Mivan colleagues at the table joked that I should put my jacket on again just in case I had to go up on the stage. It was unbelievable to hear my name being called on – and all a bit of a scramble to get my jacket back on.
“I honestly didn’t realise just how big an event it was until we arrived at the awards dinner.”
The national Apprentice of the Year award is the latest in a series of accolades for the talented young joiner. In both 2021 and 2022, he was among the winners of the NI SkillBuild regional finals and went on to compete in the WorldSkills UK national finals. In May 2023, he was the recipient of the NI SkillBuild Overall Apprentice of the Year award.
Conor admitted that he took his time to decide what he wanted to do, but his settling on joinery, he has not looked back. He said the support and guidance from both Northern Regional College and Mivan have kept him motivated and continuously improving.
He continued: “I thought I wanted to be a QS (quantity surveyor) and I spent a year at university after leaving school, but it just wasn’t for me. I tried a couple of other things but once I got started joinery, I knew I’d found my niche.”
Congratulating Conor on receiving the national Apprentice of the Year Award, his joinery lecturer at the college Ian Forsythe, said it was ‘very well deserved’.
Mr Forsythe continued: “Conor is a very capable and competent young man who has been well motivated since he started his apprenticeship training with the us. His dedication and determination to succeed have allowed him to make great progress and I’m delighted to see him do so well.”
John Cunningham, CEO Mivan, said the award recognised Conor’s commitment to excellence and is a testament to his promising future with the company: “Conor showed great potential from day one and his dedication, hard work, and exceptional talent have truly shone through. He is a standout in his field and a true representative of Mivan values and our approach to delivering quality craftsmanship every time.
“Conor is talented, keen to learn, and has a fantastic work ethic. This award is very well deserved and endorses everything we see in Conor each day.”
