A 16-YEAR-OLD student has beaten more than 130 rivals to be chosen as a select apprentice.

Thomas Winter from Eastbourne has completed his GCSEs at UTC Harbourside in Newhaven.

Now he is starting as an offshore wind technician for Rampion, whose offshore wind farm is 13km off the Sussex coast.

Its first two youngsters are coming to the end of their apprenticeships.

They have been working with the 65-strong Newhaven-based team who operate the wind farm as it prepares for full operation later this year.

Richard Crowhurst, plant manager at Rampion, said: “We’re delighted to be able to offer this apprenticeship programme.

“It provides a level of training second to none within the industry.

“The development of highly skilled personnel is key to the fast-growing renewables industry.

“We’re delighted to welcome Thomas to the team.”

The apprenticeship takes around three and a half years to complete.

The first two years are mostly classroom-based and spent completing a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in electrical and electronic engineering as well as a range of practical training courses.

Tony Walker and Ross Muirhead both started their training in 2015 and are now in their final year.

They are based at the operations and maintenance site.

Both are working to complete a Level 3 NVQ Extended Diploma in engineering maintenance.

Rampion’s other apprentices, Alex Reah and James McMiIlllan, joined the team in 2016 and have now completed their BTEC qualification.

Toby Newman and James Daniels began their apprenticeships this month.

Apprenticeships are not the only career paths at Rampion.

The site was home to undergraduate Xiaojing Li, for a 12-month placement.

He is now studying chemical engineering at Leeds University.

As part of E.ON’s graduate scheme, Rampion also provides six monthly graduate engineering placements, which last year led to Ross Bickerstaff being recruited full-time as an operations engineer.

Once complete, the Rampion Offshore Wind Farm will provide enough electricity to supply almost 347,000 homes each year, equivalent to around half the homes in Sussex.

E.ON offers a range of apprenticeship opportunities from engineering-focused roles.

These include wind turbine technicians as well as highways lighting and smart meter technicians and office-based roles such as customer services.

Go to eon-uk-careers.com for more details.