FROM trainee to fully qualified, last year’s Echo Apprentice of the Year winner is happily settled in a new salon.

Zoe Penfold, 21, was an apprentice hairdresser in 2011 when she won the top prize.

Now fully qualified, she described her new job as “absolutely brilliant”.

She said: “I moved to ID Hair and Beauty in Dorchester in June, and I love it.

“There’s a great team, I’ve gained loads of confidence, and I have my own clients.”

Zoe, who was nominated by her then-employer Naomi Cox, of Aura Hair Design and Studio, beat competition from other trainees from dozens of different fields of work.

Described by Naomi as “enthusiastic and full of drive,” Zoe received a framed Echo front page and £100 to put towards equipment.

She spent the money on a pair of scissors.

Zoe said: “They are really good, they give a better cut than ordinary scissors and they never need sharpening.”

Echo editor Toby Granville and MP for South Dorset Richard Drax presented Zoe and 2011 runners-up Neil Chainey, a trainee chef, and Chris Nicholls, an audit apprentice with certificates.

Zoe qualified as a hairdresser in May, but decided to continue studying.

She said: “I’m doing an advanced year as an extra qualification, but it’s great to be fully qualified. ID has a new salon opening up in Bridport, so I’ll spend some time working there, which I’m really looking forward to.”

She added: “Eventually, I’d love to open up my own salon.”

Zoe is supporting the Echo’s Apprentice of the Year 2012 competition.

She said: “Apprenticeships are a great way to earn while you learn, and I do think you learn more from watching colleagues and being hands on.”

The Dorset Echo is currently accepting nominations to find the 2012 Apprentice of the Year.

Family, friends, employers and tutors can nominate the person they think deserves to win the title, for their hard work, determination, or for overcoming the odds.

The competition aims to highlight the many types of apprenticeships offered by learning providers including Kingston Maurwood College, Weymouth College and Paragon Skills, as well as the achievements of individual apprentices.

The winner will receive a framed Echo front page, £100 in equipment to help on their career path, and a certificate.

If you know someone who deserves to be the Echo Apprentice of the Year 2012, send us their name and details, including age, course (for example NVQ level 2 Activity Leadership), employer, job title, training provider and, if possible, a picture.

Along with the nomination, send us 200 words explaining why you think they deserve to win.

Your name, contact details and relationship to the apprentice should also be included.

All finalists will be printed in the paper during National Apprentice Week, which starts Monday, February 6, and phone lines will open for voting.

Send your entries to newsdesk@dorsetecho.co.uk or Apprentice of the Year Award, Dorset Echo, Fleet House, Hampshire Road, Weymouth, DT4 9XD.

The closing date for nominations is Thursday, February 2.