AN apprentice engineer has been shortlisted for a national award.

Hannah Seaver has been named as a finalist in the Dyson Young Woman Engineering Apprentice of the Year Awards.

The 22-year-old, from Darlington, is an IT engineering apprentice with technology firm 3M UK Plc, in Newton Aycliffe.

She has helped to improve computing within the company and enabled it to offer a better service to its customers.

Miss Seaver has been involved in a number of projects in the company.

She has helped to replace hardware, improve communication among employees and been selected for the company's accelerated development programme.

She also co-ordinates school visits to the company and has delivered presentations to students to talk about working in the industry

The awards are led by the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IET).

Dr Alf Roberts, chief executive of the IET, said: "The IET is committed to raising awareness of the value of apprenticeships, particularly as the engineering sector is currently facing skills shortages.

"We have had an excellent response for the awards and the standard of entries is particularly high."

The winners will be announced on January 25 at a ceremony in London. The winner will receive £750.