Named the 2025 ALFED Rising Star Apprentice Award winner, Yongzhi Luo of Primetals Technologies represents a growing generation of young talent emerging in the UK aluminium sector. Shaped by practical experience, commercial awareness, and end-to-end accountability, his journey from manufacturing shop floor to front-end sales engineering highlights the distinctive value of degree-level apprenticeships in modern engineering careers.
In this spotlight Q&A, Yongzhi reflects on what the award means to him, how his apprenticeship has shaped his professional outlook, the work he is most proud of, and why curiosity, communication, and accountability matter as much as technical skill.
Congratulations on winning the 2025 ALFED Rising Star Apprentice Award. What does this recognition mean to you personally, and how has your apprenticeship journey shaped your career so far?
I’m incredibly grateful to be recognised by ALFED, the UK’s leading body for our industry. Being celebrated at the annual awards dinner is a special career milestone and a memory I’ll carry for a long time. While I’m proud of what the “Rising Star Apprentice Award” represents, it’s “a recognition of potential”. My journey in the aluminium industry is still just beginning, and there’s a lot more to learn and contribute.
My apprenticeship journey from HNC to BEng through Bournemouth & Poole College, Bournemouth University, and my employer Primetals Technologies was intentionally designed to give me broad exposure across the business. That rotation-style framework took me from hands-on manufacturing to the front end of projects with customers. It gave me a complete view of how ideas become deliverable solutions, and what each discipline / department values at every stage.
In my current role as an Assistant Sales Engineer, that understanding and perspective really matters. Strong pre-project technical understanding and selling an executable solution influence the complexity of engineering during delivery. Those design choices made during engineering ripple into manufacturing, quality, and supply chain, creating risks of delay or non-conformance that ultimately affect the customer experience and project profitability. Margin helps, but how a project flows through the organisation from conception to delivery matters most. The margin is only realised if the project is executed according to plan.
That’s the difference an apprenticeship can offer versus a traditional full-time degree: practical, end-to-end understanding and accountability that shape better decisions.
Can you tell us a bit about your role as an Assistant Sales Engineer at Primetals Technologies and what a typical day looks like for you?
As an Assistant Sales Engineer at Primetals Technologies, I’m the first point of contact for enquiries. Whether that’s new equipment, modernisations, or requests for information about our products / technologies. I work with customers to clarify requirements, bottlenecks, and constraints, then recommend and configure the right solution. From our Christchurch location, two of the most in-demand products are the Air Bearing Shapemeter and the ISV Spraybar, which measure and control the flatness of rolled aluminium strip.
From there, I run feasibility and risk assessments: technical (standard vs. bespoke design), commercial (export/trade restrictions, credit risk), the likely win drivers (price, technology, references, relationships), and any mitigation or contingency we’ll need. If it’s a safe bid, we move into detailed scope definition, agreeing the technical scope of supply and design details. That’s where the ‘engineering’ in sales engineering really comes in: proposal drawings, installation concepts, calculations, and a fully executable solution.
The quotation package I prepare sets out a clear scope of supply, a feasible technical solution, and transparent commercial terms and conditions. Once an enquiry becomes a project, I lead a precise internal handover, translating the sold scope and T&C into actionable deliverables across engineering, project management, procurement, production, and finance. So, what we promised is exactly what we build and deliver.
What initially attracted you to an apprenticeship in engineering, and what sets apprenticeships apart from traditional routes?
My interest in engineering grew gradually through my stepfather’s career, who began as a mechanical design engineer and worked at BAE Systems designing tooling, jigs and fixtures for aerospace components. His career combined with a general curiosity about how things work and how large projects are designed and built, put engineering on my path from a young age.
At sixth form, I felt a lot of pressure to follow the UCAS route by default. Apprenticeships were barely signposted, and in some cases even discouraged. I visited universities and submitted my first and second-choice applications, but the idea of studying for four more years with limited industry experience didn’t feel right for me.
Once I discovered degree-level apprenticeships, the choice was clear. I could earn while I learn, gain real project experience, and build professional skills alongside formal qualifications. That combination has made all the difference for me.
What sets an apprenticeship apart is the end-to-end understanding you build. How a concept becomes an executable solution and then a delivered product. You’re learning from mentors and experts, applying theory on real projects, and developing the soft skills that matter in industry.
Are there any projects or achievements during your apprenticeship that you’re particularly proud of?
One project I’m particularly proud of is my BEng project: “Adapting an eddy-current flatness measurement device for high-temperature aluminium rolling mill applications”. In short, I explored how we could evolve our existing C-Shape flatness sensor for use where strip temperatures are significantly elevated.
The challenge was in two parts: understanding how heat affects the product’s internal electronics and signal stability, and how temperature and thermal gradients influence the mechanical construction and long-term reliability. I led computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and thermal modelling, and carried out a theoretical feasibility study on materials, thermal management, and enclosure design options.
The work didn’t end at graduation, it’s now progressed into an R&D project in FY25, which is a great validation that the concept has commercial merit. I’m proud because it bridges academic knowledge with real customer needs.
Finally, what advice would you give to students or early-career professionals considering an apprenticeship or a career in engineering?
For someone who is considering an apprenticeship or a career in engineering, I would start by shadowing an industry professional, tour a factory, experience and observe a project meeting. Seeing how ideas become executable solutions and then delivered products.
Then focus on being curious, develop communication skills, and understand accountability. Curiosity keeps you learning, communication turns good ideas into aligned actions, accountability means you own outcomes, not just tasks.
Choose people as much as apprenticeship programmes. Mentors and teams that invest in your growth make a huge difference.
Conclusion
Yongzhi Luo’s journey illustrates the impact that well-structured apprenticeships can have, not only in developing technical capability, but in shaping engineers who understand accountability, risk, and the realities of delivering complex industrial projects. As the aluminium industry navigates decarbonisation, digitalisation, and circularity, his perspective highlights how curiosity, practical experience, and end-to-end understanding can turn potential into lasting professional impact.
