The CFA are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2025 Flooring Apprentice of the Year competition, is Daniel Mee from Hillside Contracts Ltd, Leicester. Judging the competition this year were three seasoned CFA Council Members, Alan Gayle (AG Flooring Ltd), Matthew Brown (Uzin Utz Uk) and David Brady (RJM Flooring Ltd) all of whom are experts in their field and committed to supporting the CFA and the competition.

The judges noted that Daniel’s entry was comprehensive, displaying all expected apprentice competencies, including thorough site setup, meticulous preparation work, correct PPE usage, and execution of diverse flooring tasks and procedures. His range of photos and videos supported his entry and he received great marks on all questions asked regarding floorlaying activities as part of the entry. He also received great praise from his tutor and employer, Daniel spent time throughout his teens helping his uncle, who is also a floorlayer and discovered how much he enjoyed the work before joining his employer Hillside Contracts Ltd. Daniel stated it is a profession he finds fun, rewarding, and something he is genuinely passionate about.

The CFA have proudly organised and delivered the Flooring Apprentice of the Year competition for many years and have always been delighted with the large levels of engagement from employers, apprentices, training providers and sponsors. The very nature of the competition provides a platform for apprentices to highlight the skills that they have learnt during their apprenticeship and for the companies that employ the apprentices to get involved, it shows their commitment to training their workforce and their investment in the next generation of flooring installers.

This year not only was the winner presented with a prize pool of a value in excess of £10,000 but sponsors kindly donated to a 2nd and 3rd place prize pool too. On the 24th June at the InstallerSHOW, CFA President Alan McEwan announced Daniel as our winner. Alan also announce that Sam Shetliffe (Capitol Carpets and Blinds) took 2nd place and Greg Scott (Veitchi Flooring) took 3rd, both runners up receiving their own set of prizes too.

Once the dust had settled and Daniel was over his initial shock and being names the winner, we asked him for his thoughts on winning the competition;

‘I am over the moon to have won the CFA Apprentice of the Year 2025. It is a massive honour and it still has not fully sunk in. It feels incredible to have all my hard work, commitment, and learning recognised like this. I have put everything into my apprenticeship, so to come away with this kind of recognition means more than I can put into words. I just want to thank my uncle James for introducing me to the trade. I also want to thank everyone at Hillside Contracts Ltd for giving me the opportunity to learn and grow as part of a great team. And a massive thanks to Josh and Paul Appleby for the time, patience, and knowledge they have shared with me. I have learned so much from everyone. Winning this award has given me even more motivation to keep pushing forward. It is a proud moment and just the start of what I hope will be a long career in the industry.’

Each year the Flooring Apprentice of the Year competition is sponsored and supported by more than 20 flooring sponsors generously donating prizes. The prize pot included a specialist flooring tool kit with named workwear, tool bags, hand and power tools, adhesives and sub floor preparation products, moisture measuring equipment and accessories such as PPE. It also included £1000 in cash, £1750 in product vouchers, £1250 in online shopping vouchers and two free training courses to further his knowledge.

Daniel’s employers are no strangers to recruiting and training top quality apprentices, Jo Singer, Director at Hillside Contracts Ltd said;

‘Hillside Contracts Ltd are delighted that Daniel has been awarded Apprentice of the Year 2025. We are extremely proud of Daniels’s efforts and determination he has shown to win this award’

Daniel completed the formal training element of his apprenticeship with Webs Training Ltd and Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA) attending the FITA Training centre in Loughborough for his off the job training. Helen Davies, Flooring Training Coordinator at Webs Training Ltd had the following to say;

‘Daniel put so much effort into his apprenticeship, he was determined to have the best portfolio and provided the very best evidence that he possibly could. His practical skills developed quickly due to the effort and energy he put into every FITA session and his interaction with the fitters on site. The result was that Daniel was ready for his end point assessment earlier than planned and he sailed through it with a very respectable distinction.’

Shaun Wadsworth is training manager, Contract Flooring Association (CFA)