TWO more apprentices from Darlington's Cleveland Bridge have been shortlisted in a national awards scheme.

Ben Stockdale from Darlington, an apprentice on the maintenance team, and Daniel Burns from Middlesbrough, an apprentice in the drawing office, were named in the Apprentice of the Year category at the ceremony in Liverpool.

The Manufacturer MX Awards (TMMX) was formed in 2015 by the merger of two of the industry’s top awards programmes: The Manufacturer of the Year Awards, run by The Manufacturer, and the Manufacturing Excellence Awards, run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

The programme is one of the biggest annual celebrations in the industry’s calendar, attracting more than 1,000 attendees.

To reach the finals, Ben and Daniel submitted a written application, following which they were assessed on site and interviewed by a panel of industry experts, where they had to provide examples of completed work for scrutiny.

During their training, both Ben, 20, and Daniel, 21, have been working as part of Cleveland Bridge’s team on flagship projects, including the Queensferry Crossing in Edinburgh.

Chris Droogan, managing director of Cleveland Bridge UK, said: "Ben and Daniel are perfect examples of how apprenticeships can be incredibly beneficial to both the individuals and the businesses that they work with. Cleveland Bridge is proud to have these two talented team members flying the flag for us.

"Our apprentices and apprenticeship scheme continues to be recognised nationally and regionally for its excellent results. We have more than 20 young people working towards becoming fully-qualified, and to have two of them shortlisted in this award, alongside big names like Coca Cola, is something we can all be proud of."

The accolades follow the achievements of Cleveland Bridge apprentices Liam Simpson and Josh Cuppitt, who, in recent months, were both shortlisted in the Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF) Future Manufacturing Awards.