Mr Gareth McDuff, General Manager of Copthorne Hotel Cardiff submitted this little piece as a little ‘surprise’ to thank and appreciate loyal employee Mr James Swan for his 25 years of dedication and hard work to the hotel. Here’s what Mr McDuff shared with Hi Life about James who was recently named ‘South Wales Apprentice of the Year’ by the Welsh Government, for excelling in aptitude and achievements in skills development.

James joined the hotel on the 2nd November 1998, as a Building Services Apprentice. During the following 4 years, he attended college twice a week, and completed various work-place assignments, culminating in his winning an award for South Wales Apprentice of the Year*.
 
On completion of this period, James joined the Maintenance team, full time, as a Room Technician, eventually graduating to his current role of Assistant Engineer. He played an active role in helping us achieve our ISO 18001/14001 accreditation in 2019. His work ethic has always been second to none. He is always looking to extend his skills base and share his knowledge across the team. He is qualified to carry out PAT testing and also has Pool Plant, Legionella Management, First Aid and H&S L3 qualifications.

Another interesting fact: James has never had a single day’s sickness, during his 25 yrs with M&C! 

*Organised by the Welsh Government and supported by the National Training Federation for Wales, the awards showcase and celebrate the achievements of those who have exceeded expectations and shown a dynamic approach to training, demonstrated initiative and enterprise, innovation and creativity, and shown an understanding of, and commitment to, the improvement of skills development for the Welsh economy.

On behalf of all of us at Hi Life and the Hong Leong Group of companies, here’s a big thank you to James!