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Local talent win top accolades at National Apprenticeship Awards

Firms, organisations and apprentices from across the North East are celebrating after winning top accolades at the regional final of the prestigious National Apprenticeship Awards 2013.

Liebherr Sunderland Works and apprentice Natalie Dixon from Derwentside Homes in Durham are just some of the winners at the regional awards ceremony which was organised by the National Apprenticeship Service and held at Radisson Blu Hotel in Durham.

The National Apprenticeship Awards, now in their 10th year, celebrate the achievements of the country’s most outstanding apprentices and Apprenticeship employers.

Sue Price, divisional area director for the National Apprenticeship Service in the North, said: “The regional final of the National Apprenticeship Awards was a fantastic evening of celebration, and a brilliant opportunity to recognise the high calibre of apprentices and employers in our region.

“Apprenticeships allow employers to grow their own talent, whilst enabling apprentices to earn while they learn and build a real career and a bright future. All our finalists are testament to this.”

Winning firms and organisations from across the North East were:

• Nuclear Decommissioning SLC Award for Medium Employer of the Year – Liebherr Sunderland Works Ltd. in Sunderland

• BAE Systems Large Employer of the Year – Kier North Tyneside Ltd. in Killingworth

• Macro Employer of the Year – Jacobs UK Ltd. in Stockton-on-Tees

• Investors in People Newcomer Employer of the Year – Atos in Darlington

Apprentice winners in the region are:

• City & Guild Apprenticeship Champion of the Year – Nicola Harker from South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Middlesbrough

• Higher Apprentice of the Year – Michelle Watson from Express Engineering Ltd in Gateshead

• Intermediate Apprentice of the Year – Natalie Dixon from Derwentside Homes in Durham

The National Apprenticeship Awards celebrate the achievements of the country’s most outstanding apprentices and Apprenticeship employers. This year the National Apprenticeship Awards received in excess of 1,600 high quality entrants, with the region’s winners now proceeding through to a final judging stage.

The national award winners will be announced during the opening ceremony of the UK’s largest national skills and careers event, The Skills Show*, at the NEC in Birmingham on November 14. Regional Apprenticeship employer winners judged to be the very best of the best will have the additional honour of featuring in the acclaimed England’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list, which will be produced by the National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with City and Guilds.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Martin Walker .