A FORMER healthcare assistant has overcome blindness to be nominated 'apprentice of the year'.

Mark Abel, a 49-year-old-apprentice from Worcester, was forced to give up a career as a healthcare assistant after losing his sight but has now been shortlisted for a regional award.

Mr Abel has been shortlisted in the Apprentice of the Year category in the Health Education West Midlands Apprenticeship Recognition Awards 2016 after being nominated by colleagues at the Elgar Unit in Worcester where he is an admin assistant.

Mr Abel was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2011 which triggered a Bilateral Optic Neuritis attack leading to sight loss.

He had to give up his job as a healthcare assistant on the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit in Worcester where he had worked since 2010.

After a year out recovering and coming to terms with the effects of the illness, Mr Abel who received help from his family and Blind Veterans UK, returned to the Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust where he joined the team at the Elgar Unit as an administration support worker to the inpatient pathway/bed manager.

In order for Mr Abel to further his personal skills and development he enrolled on the apprenticeship programme in 2014.

In September Mr Abel achieved an NVQ Level 2 in Business and Administration and after exceeding expectations and outstanding contributions to his workplace, he was nominated and selected as a finalist in the Apprentice of the Year category in the Health Education West Midlands Apprenticeship Recognition Awards.

The awards honour both apprentices and employers from across the West Midlands who demonstrate ongoing commitment, contribution and success as an individual or employer.

Mr Abel said: “I was completely surprised when I found out I had been shortlisted as a finalist for the Apprentice of the Year award.

"I feel immensely proud of my achievement despite my disability and the hurdles I have overcome to get through the apprenticeship, which was only made possible by the help and support of my line manager Brian Walker, Blind Veterans UK and my patient and helpful tutor Manny Jaspal from Qube Learning.”

He has now enrolled onto the NVQ Level 3 Business and Administration apprenticeship which he will finish by the end of the year, and as for the future he hopes to remain an employee of the trust and learn many new skills.

Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust, the main provider of community and mental health services in Worcestershire, has also been shortlisted in the Employer of the Year category for the support it provides apprentices throughout their placements.

The awards ceremony takes place in February.