Jim Allen from Banbury is officially our ‘Best Technician’ in the UK for the second year running after competing against colleagues from across the country in our annual ‘Clearly the Best’ final on Thursday (14 September).

Having made it through regional heats, Jim who works from the Oxford service centre at Oxford Trade Centre, scored the most points, undertaking a timed and quality assessed car windscreen repair and replacement, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) calibration and replacement of an HGV side window. The finalists were also evaluated on customer service skills, health and safety and the environmental, social and governance aspects of their role.

Jim lifted the coveted ‘BE57 TEC’ numberplate for his van and was presented with a cheque for £3,000 at an evening ceremony at Chesterfield FC. The other finalists were Jonathan Lord from Portsmouth, Nick Hill from Walderslade and Tom Barker from Snodland.

Jim said: “I’m really happy to win it, twice in two years, so it feels really good. For any colleagues looking to enter Clearly the Best next year, I’d say give it a go!”

Sean Draycott, Operations Director at Auto Windscreens, said: “We hold this competition every year because we’re so proud of all our technicians’ training and skills and how they look after our customers. The finalists this year have a combined 100 years’ experience between them, and with Tom and Jim being previous champions, it was quite a contest. A big well done to all involved, and especially to Jim, who proved he’s ‘Clearly the Best’!"

To coincide with the competition, we also awarded an ‘Auto Windscreens Apprentice of the Year’ shield for the first time. The winner was James Hunter, for his performance in his Level 3 Automotive Glazing Technician apprenticeship.

Jim Allen (R) with Sean Draycott (L)

James Hunter (L) with Tony Green (R)