A WOMAN who missed out on her dream of becoming an engineer when she left school has become the nation’s top British Gas apprentice two decades later.

Claire Berrett, 38, from Bournemouth, worked in retail for 20 years after failing to find an opportunity in engineering.

She has now beaten 10 other apprentices to be named top apprentice at the British Gas Academy in Thatcham, Berkshire, due to the “focus, dedication and team work” she displayed.

Claire said she wanted to follow her father’s footsteps as an engineer when she was a teenager.

But she had to withdraw an application to join the Royal Navy as a trainee engineer because her eyesight was not good enough and she was unable to find another opportunity.

The former retail manager now services and repairs boilers across Bournemouth and Poole. She was selected for a two-year apprenticeship at the British Gas Academy, and qualified as an engineer in December 2015.

She said: “I’ve always wanted to be an engineer and completing my apprenticeship at British Gas has been a dream come true.

“The facilities at the academy are amazing and the support that I received from my tutors and mentor made the whole experience enjoyable and rewarding.

“I’m looking forward to my career as a fully-qualified engineer and would encourage anyone, especially young girls and women who are interested in engineering, to look at an apprenticeship as a great way into the industry.”

Matthew Bateman, managing director for field operations at British Gas, said: “We’re thrilled Claire has been named our Apprentice of the Year.

“Claire demonstrated a fantastic attitude, great skills, and always went the extra mile to help her team mates. She’s been a model apprentice and has a bright future ahead of her.”

More than 1,200 apprentices are being trained at British Gas’ six dedicated training academies across the UK. All apprentices are employed from day one and move into roles as engineers at the end of the training.

British Gas apprenticeships attract an average of 30 applications for each position. All British Gas apprentices are employed from day one and move into roles as engineers at the end of their training.