BUILDER Lisa Power has scooped Bolton College's coveted title - Technician of the Year.

The 22-year-old student beat stiff competition from fellow apprentices to win the award.

Lisa, who works for Bolton Planning and Building Associates, is on her first year of a HNC Building Studies course.

She won the award as a measure of her success as a senior designer on projects for brewing giants Whitbread.

Lisa is just one of 100 students receiving training skills at Bolton college whilst still at work.

Janet Wright, Bolton College's Training Manager, said: "When that learning and training is geared to a quality framework and has the commitment of a wide range of industries and employers, the proposition becomes even more attractive."

Bolton College Training Unit is one of the largest providers of the modern apprenticeships covering a range of subjects as diverse as hairdressing to motoring.

Mechanic Manish Walji is another of the college's success stories.

He combined his work at Gordons in Bolton and Horwich with study on a day release basis.

And trainee accountant, Paul Greenlees, also praised the college and thanked his employer, Leach Briely, who footed the bill for his NVQ course.

And one of the college's most unusual subjects - greenkeeping - has proved a godsend for Dunscar Golf Course worker Tony Grayson.

Tony, studying sports turf management, said: "We were able to relate coursework projects to the job which I found very useful."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.