Engineering Student Yongzhi Wins Aluminium Award Accolade
We are delighted to announce that former student Yongzhi has secured the 2025 Rising Star Apprentice Award from the Aluminium Federation (ALFED). The win highlights a brilliant career trajectory that began at Bournemouth and Poole College and continued through to a BEng in Manufacturing Engineering at Bournemouth University.
Yongzhi accepted the honour amongst industry peers at the Federation’s Annual Dinner at the Carden Park Hotel in Cheshire, this November. Receiving such recognition alongside established leaders in the field confirms his status as a key talent to watch in the engineering world.
He said on LinkedIn, “This recognition is not just a personal milestone. It's a reflection of the support and mentorship I've received through my apprenticeship programme. I'm excited to keep learning, growing, and contributing to the future of aluminium in the UK and globally.”
To support the nomination for his award, he required a letter of recommendation from his employer. Daniel Hague, Technology and Engineering Manager at Primetals Technologies said: “Since progressing to the Sales team in May 2024, Yongzhi has demonstrated exceptional professional growth, outstanding commitment to business development, and a recognisable impact across teams and cultures.”
Furthermore, Daniel added: “Yongzhi’s business impact is remarkable; he has been pivotal in building relationships with key customers in China, developed and validated CFD models for technical R&D, and delivered high-quality technical presentations for internal and external stakeholders. His analytical thoroughness, combined with commercial awareness, has directly supported sales strategies and enhanced customer engagement. Yongzhi’s ability to balance technical insight with stakeholder needs makes him an invaluable asset to the team.”
Yongzhi said: “I’m very honoured and very grateful for the recognition from managers at Primetals Technologies, colleagues, Jerry my assessor, and my lecturers at the University.”
Yongzhi began his career as an Apprentice Engineer for Primetals Technologies through Bournemouth and Poole College. The company builds rolling mills and process software, providing solutions for product measurement. Yongzhi describes it humbly as fitting “the small pieces of an overall puzzle in the whole ecosystem of a company
In 2022, Yongzhi moved from workshop assembly to the Mechanical Engineering department, and in 2024, he took a one-year secondment position in Sales, where he also flourished. As an Assistant Sales Engineer, he was responsible for customer enquiries and delivering proposal solutions with in-house designs. He has used 2D and 3D AutoCAD, Solid Edge and other Engineering software to help him achieve this. As part of his BEng university final project – ‘Adapting an eddy-current flatness measurement device for high temperature aluminium rolling mill applications’ - Yongzhi managed to engage in the Aluminium industry with confident expertise, obtaining a First-Class Degree.
With his steadfast approach to his degree and his career, Yongzhi is set to keep delivering. He has now been nominated for a second award by his tutors. Yongzhi’s lecturer, Matthew White said: “What an excellent outcome for Yongzhi! We’re immensely proud of his achievement and we hope that he will continue to become an expert in the aluminium industry in the future. He was an absolute pleasure to teach and confidently engaged with all of his work throughout his studies.”
