A Chesterfield teenager has been shortlisted for a major award in a Derbyshire apprentice success story after generating thousands of pounds in sales for his employer.
Ryan Gibbions, 19, a sales executive at West Special Fasteners, is a finalist in the Apprentice of the Year category of the East Midlands Chamber Derbyshire Business Awards after making a stellar start to his career.
From A-Levels to Apprenticeship Success
Ryan joined West Special Fasteners, a Dronfield-based manufacturer of specialist bolts from stainless steel and rare metals, as a customer service apprentice in October 2024, shortly after completing his A Levels in Maths, Further Maths and chemistry at Outwood Academy Newbold.
He had previously been destined to follow the route he felt had already been mapped out for him, from studying for his A Levels and then going to university to study maths or statistics.
But, during his second year at Sixth Form, he saw a role advertised at West Special Fasteners and decided that he would prefer to go straight into the working world when his course was over.
He wasn’t able to apply for the job because he was still at school, but after he left another position, as a customer service apprentice, came up, and he successfully applied for it.
Reviving Dormant Accounts and Driving Sales Growth
Sixteen months later, Ryan, from Hasland, has finished his apprenticeship and is now a sales executive, but he made such an impact at the firm that he was entered into the Chamber awards, which will be handed out at the end of next month.
In particular, he used his commercial acumen, maths skills and flair for relationship-building to revive a portfolio of dormant accounts that had not generated orders for more than a year, turning what had been inactive clients into loyal customers again – and even increasing one firm’s spending from £2,300 in 2023 to £58,000 in 2025.
He also developed a new enquiry logging system in Microsoft Excel, streamlining data entry and making information available for trend reporting, and supported the company’s sales director in producing value reports for EU customers, greatly enhancing its customer service standards across Europe.
Celebrating National Apprenticeship Week
All in all, Ryan’s decision to enter the working world rather than the world of academia has been more than vindicated and, with the country marking National Apprenticeship Week this week, he is calling on more companies and schools to promote apprenticeships to young people.
He said: “It was a total surprise to know that I’d been nominated for the awards and I’m really excited about the final next month.
“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I was at school and I’d always assumed that I’d do my A Levels and go to university, but when I saw that a job had come up at West Special Fasteners, I realised then that I’d prefer to start work instead of going onto study.
“I’m so glad I did. I never really enjoyed learning in a classroom environment, and I’ve learned so much at work that I would never have learned at university, such as how to speak to customers and grow ongoing relationships.
“I don’t have anything against going to university, but I’ve made the right choice for me and it’s working out really well. I think schools and companies should promote apprenticeships more, because they’re a great opportunity for young people.”
West Special Fasteners’ Commitment to Apprenticeships
Founded in 1999, West Special Fasteners employs more than 60 people and has supplied its specialist fasteners to a host of performance-critical engineering projects across a range of industries, including nuclear, defence and offshore, in more than 35 countries worldwide.
Its Derbyshire-made stainless steel hex bolts were also used to secure the structural elements of the Helix Bridge in Singapore – a 280m pedestrian bridge in Marina Bay inspired by the DNA double helix structure.
The firm’s managing director, Sonja Skelton, said: “Ryan has brought a fresh energy to our business and his mathematical skills and advanced knowledge of Excel helped him to make an immediate impact, so he’s already a key part of our success story.
“He’s one of a number of apprentices at West Special Fasteners, and employing apprentices has worked very well for us because we’re able to employ them full-time afterwards, helping us to bring in new talent to help future-proof our company.
“Sometimes, apprentices can also offer a fresh pair of eyes and come up with ideas that we haven’t thought of. Ryan is an excellent example of this, and it’s refreshing for everybody to work with individuals who are eager to learn and make a contribution.”
For more information visit www.westspecialfasteners.co.uk
This press release was distributed by Penguin PR. To find out more contact Simon Burch on [email protected].
