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North West (Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire) Apprenticeship Awards

GREATER MANCHESTER, CHESHIRE AND STAFFORDSHIRE CELEBRATES THE SUCCESS OF ITS APPRENTICES AND APPRENTICE EMPLOYERS AT PRESTIGIOUS AWARDS

Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire’s top apprentices and apprentice employers have been announced in the regional final of the National Apprenticeship Awards 2015.

The National Apprenticeship Awards, now in their 12th year, celebrate the success of the country’s most exceptional apprentices and apprenticeship employers. The winners and highly commended entries were announced at a high profile awards ceremony on 22 October at Lancashire County Cricket Club in Greater Manchester, organised by the National Apprenticeship Service.

The awards challenge top apprentices and apprenticeship employers across England to come forward and show how apprenticeships have made a real difference to their careers and their organisations.

Having fought off tough competition in this year’s coveted awards, the winners are:

McDonald’s Award for Intermediate Apprentice of the Year: Laura Broughton, Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service;

Highly Commended: Zachary Keneally-Smith, Greater Manchester Police; John Jones, Keepmoat Regeneration LTD

EAL Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year: Sophie Knight, IBM;

Highly Commended: Connor Stevenson, Raise the Youth Foundation; Ryan Atwell, Barclays Bank Plc

The Nuclear Decommissioning Site Licence Companies Award for the Higher Apprentice of the Year: Jade Aspinall, MBDA UK Ltd.

Highly Commended: Anna Schlautmann, MBDA UK Ltd; Sarah Herrington, United Utilities

Unilever Award for Small Employer of the Year: Adary Joiners.

Highly commended: Wardworth Ltd t/a Ladderstore

The E.ON in partnership with the National Skills Academy for Power Award for Medium Employer of the Year: Tangerine PR.

Highly commended: Heat Trace Ltd; UKFast

BAE Systems Award for Large Employer of the Year: KMF.

Highly commended: Aspire Group; Barclays RBB Technology

BT Award for Macro Employer of the Year: United Utilities.

Highly commended: Elior UK

EDF Energy Award for Newcomer SME of the Year: Metamorphic PR. Rolls-Royce Award for Newcomer Large Employer of the Year: ao.com. Highly commended: AstraZeneca IT

Skills Minister Nick Boles said:

“A big congratulations to all the apprentices and employers in the Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire areas who impressed the judges today. From local businesses to large household names, from intermediate to degree apprentices, all of today’s winners truly deserve this recognition.

“The success of each winner reminds us of how crucial apprenticeships are in supporting our workforce, our businesses and our economy. This is why we are committed to delivering 3 million apprenticeships by 2020.”

This year’s sponsor for the North West - Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire Awards is The Co-operative Group.

Sue Husband, Director of the National Apprenticeship Service, said:

“Apprenticeships deliver for businesses, individuals and the economy. They enable people to gain the skills and knowledge they need to succeed, in some cases up to degree level, while working and earning. And for businesses, hiring apprentices is a productive and effective way for them to grow their own talent by developing a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce.

“The National Apprenticeship Awards enable talented apprentices and committed employers to receive the recognition they richly deserve. They not only help celebrate the achievements of apprentices and businesses, allowing them to gain the credit for investing in their own futures, but they drive up quality and encourage others to get involved.

“Today’s winners are the best of the best in the region and I would like to congratulate them on their achievements. They deserve to be rewarded for their efforts. There has never been a better time to become an apprentice or employ one.”

Following the regional ceremonies, the winners from each category in all 11 areas of England will have their entries sent for national judging, and three from each category will be selected as national finalists.

The apprenticeship employer entries that were judged to be the very best of the best will have the additional honour of featuring in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list.

The national award winners and Top 100 Employers will be revealed at a ceremony held in January 2016 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.

Search for apprenticeships on .GOV.UK or call 08000 150 600 to find out more about apprenticeships.

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