London and the South East top apprentices and apprentice employers announced

The National Apprenticeship Awards, now in their 14th year, showcase the successes and benefits of apprenticeships across England in the last year. We announced the winners and highly commended entries at an awards ceremony held at the St Pauls, Aldersgate Conference Centre.

Apprentices and employers fought off tough competition by demonstrating how businesses are growing their own talent pool with apprenticeships and how apprentices have made a significant contribution to their workplace.

This year’s winners for London are:

Apprentice categories:

• Intermediate Apprentice of the Year: Ruzina Begum, Lookahead
• Advanced Apprentice of the Year: Megan Whitbread, Troup Bywaters + Anders
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Site Licence Companies award for Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year: Christopher Achiampong, IBM
• Apprenticeship Champion: William Darby, GOLIN

And highly commended:

• Intermediate Apprentice of the Year: Luke Knight, Servest
• Advanced Apprentice of the Year: Gemma Appleford, Initiative and Sabina Enu-Kwesi, Otis Elevator
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Site Licence Companies award for Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year: Olivia Reed, Enable Business Solutions Ltd and Catherine Hearn, British Airways
• Apprenticeship Champion: Aqil Akhtar, Aspire Apprenticeships

Employer categories:

• Small Employer of the Year: Blue Engineering
• Large Employer of the Year: CH2M
• The Open University award for Macro Employer of the Year: Starbucks Coffee Company
• Rolls-Royce award for Newcomer Large Employer of the Year: IPG Mediabrands

And highly commended:

• Large Employer of the Year: The Royal Borough of Greenwich
• The Open University award for Macro Employer of the Year: GSK and IBM UK Ltd
• Rolls-Royce award for Newcomer Large Employer of the Year: Exterion Media (UK) Limited

This year’s winners for the South East are:

Apprentice categories:

• Intermediate Apprentice of the Year: Samuel Jenman, Southampton Football Club
• Advanced Apprentice of the Year: Amy Lambden, AWE Plc
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Site Licence Companies award for Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year: Thomas Sherlock, IBM UK Ltd
• Apprenticeship Champion: Megan Niven, A C Nielsen Co Ltd

And highly commended:

• Advanced Apprentice of the Year: Tom Schwenke, Philips Lighting UK&I
• Nuclear Decommissioning Authority Site Licence Companies award for Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year: Sarah Naylor, IBM UK Ltd and Gemma Dalziel, Cisco International Ltd
• Apprenticeship Champion: Sarah Wilson, The Weald Community School & Sixth Form College

Employer categories:

• Small Employer of the Year: Pinetree Enterprises Ltd
• Medium Employer of the Year: Invotra Limited
• Large Employer of the Year: Home Grown Hotels
• The Open University award for Macro Employer of the Year: Thales UK Ltd

And highly commended:

• Large Employer of the Year: Nielsen
• The Open University award for Macro Employer of the Year: Centrica

Following the 6 regional ceremonies taking place across England, winners from each category will have their entries sent for national judging. Three from each category will then be selected as national finalists. The very best employer category entries are also in the running to feature in the prestigious Centrica sponsored Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list 2017.

Skills and Apprenticeships Minister Anne Milton said:

The National Apprenticeship Awards are a fantastic way to demonstrate the incredible benefits and contributions of both apprentices and their employers across the country.

My personal congratulations go out to everyone who has taken part in the National Apprenticeship Awards so far, and also to those heading to the national finals. You truly are worthy ambassadors for apprenticeships.

Sue Husband, director, National Apprenticeship Service, added:

The National Apprenticeship Awards allow talented apprentices and committed employers from across our regions to receive well-deserved recognition for their apprenticeship achievements. In turn I hope that the exposure given to winners encourages more employers and individuals to get involved.

Winners recognised today in London and the South East region show the range of sectors and variety of job roles apprenticeships are available in, and how they can deliver the skills employers need. I congratulate all winners and highly commended finalists on their success. For those heading to the national finals, I wish them the very best of luck for the next stage of the competition.

National award winners and the Top 100 Employers will be announced at a ceremony to be held on 18 January 2018 in London.

This year’s sponsor for London and the South East awards is Thales UK Ltd.