A young apprentice is waiting to see if she will be the winner of a national award.

Jade Hughes, an instrumentation apprentice at TSP Engineering, in Workington, is a regional finalist to be named Engineering Apprentice of the Year: Rising Star in the MAKE UK 2019 Awards.

The awards are organised by MAKE UK, a national organisation designed to support and advise the manufacturing sector.

The Rising Star category recognises apprentices who have taken the most advantage of the training and development opportunities they have and made a significant contribution to their employers.

Jade, 19, from Broughton, has been at the firm for two years and has one-and-a-half years left of her apprenticeship.

She studied at Cockermouth School and then did one year at Gen2 on an Access to Apprenticeship programme before coming to TSP Engineering

She said: “It’s amazing to think that a young girl from a small town in Cumbria like myself could potentially win such a high profile award.

"Winning this award would prove no matter your gender, background or age you can achieve big things."

Michelle Watson, TSP's HR advisor who oversees its apprentices, said: “Since starting at TSP Engineering Jade has been a breath of fresh air.

"Her confidence, willingness to learn, and excellent quality of work has earned her the respect of the team around her.

"We are extremely proud of Jade for being shortlisted as a regional finalist for such an amazing national award and could not be happier to see hard working ambitious members of the TSP team be recognised for their work ethic and attitude."

Chief executive John Coughlan added: “We are really pleased that Jade has been shortlisted as a finalist.

"Jade now joins a band of others at TSP Engineering who over the last three years have been shortlisted for prestigious UK awards, demonstrating the serious capability we have within the business."

The winners of the MAKE UK awards will be announced on October 16 at a ceremony in Manchester.