T Level student Viktoriia in the running to scoop national trophy

Seventeen-year-old Viktoriia Grachova, a Walsall College T Level student working at Winvic Construction Ltd, has lifted the East Midlands T Level Student of the Year trophy in the Department for Education’s (DfE) National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards. The leading main contractor that specialises in the design and delivery of private and public sector construction and civil engineering projects, was also Highly Commended in the T Level Employer of the Year category.

Viktoriia will now join the winners from the eight other regions in England at a ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on 27 November to find out who will be awarded the national accolade.

After Viktoriia was displaced from Ukraine, she undertook her GCSEs in the UK as the first step towards her dream career of becoming a construction site engineer. The T Level route – combining theory and practical experience – stood out and after securing her placement with Winvic for her Construction: Survey, Design, and Planning qualification, she requested to work on one of the contractor’s most complex projects: the 33-storey Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) scheme, Crown Place Birmingham.

Viktoriia’s goal has always been to continually learn and develop, particularly in gaining new knowledge and practice with tools and technologies. She volunteered to work closely with HP SitePrint, a state-of-the-art robotic printer that negates the need for manual setting out tasks, and Viktoriia is one of Winvic’s on-site experts on the technology’s use.

Viktoriia Grachova, Trainee Site Engineer and T Level student at Winvic, said: “Many people have said to me that you get recognised and rewarded for your hard work here at Winvic, but I didn’t think it would be in this kind of way!

“My team’s reaction has been amazing and without them I wouldn’t be here. I’d like to thank them all for supporting me to learn and thrive every day.

“I’m very proud to be the East Midlands T Level Student of the Year and whether I win at the national final or not, I’m excited to attend the ceremony and keep working hard to finish my qualification.”