Finalists Announced for Apprenticeship Awards Cymru
A judging panel has selected 19 finalists from nearly 100 applications for next month’s Apprenticeship Awards Cymru, which are designed to celebrate the outstanding achievements of learners, employers and providers.
The high profile awards ceremony, to be held at the Mercure Cardiff Holland House Hotel, Cardiff on Wednesday. November 16, will showcase excellence in skills development in Wales.
The awards are organised by the Welsh Government in partnership with the National Training Federation Wales (NTfW), a network of 90 quality assured learning providers which has links to 35,000 employers across Wales. Main sponsor is Pearson and media partner for the event is Media Wales.
Apprenticeships in Wales are funded by the Welsh Government and part-financed by the European Social Fund.
The awards are split into six categories: Foundation Apprentice of the Year, Apprentice of the Year, Young Apprentice of the Year, Medium Employer of the Year, Large Employer of the Year and Apprenticeship Provider of the Year.
A distinguished panel of judges had the difficult task of filtering through the applications this week and selected 19 finalists in the learners, employers and providers categories. The judges were Ray Edwards, director of sales at Pearson Work Based Learning, Simon Farrington from Media Wales, Sian Powell and Jacqui Bastock from the Welsh Government, Leon Patnett from Careers Wales, Richard Spear from NIACE Dysgu Cymru, Andy Dodge from the NTfW and Melanie Thomas from ITEC.
Mr Edwards said: “The Apprenticeship Awards Cymru candidates this year were of an extremely high standard and varied across all ages and sectors. They indicate the strength of apprenticeship delivery in Wales.”
Finalists in the employers categories are: Kronospan Limited, Chirk; Airbus UK, Broughton; Newport City Homes, Newport; Monmouthshire Housing Association Ltd, Mamhilad, Pontypool; BT Local Business (Leading Edge Group Ltd), Cardiff and Mercure Swansea Hotel.
Finalists in the Apprenticeship Provider of the Year category are Acorn Learning Solutions Ltd, Newport; Pembrokeshire College, Haverfordwest and Cambrian Training Company, Welshpool.
The learner finalists are: Benjamin Morgan, Deeside College; Rhys West, Ystrad Mynach College; Felicity Llewellyn, Powys Training, Llandrindod Wells; Beth Pickering and Richard Wilkins, Airbus UK; Christopher Selio, British Airways Maintenance, Cardiff; James Bannister, Construction Skills Training Ltd; Chris Readman, Deeside College; Stephen Roberts, Yale Training, Wrexham and Tomos Hopkin, Cambrian Training Company.
Around 250 stakeholders from the vocational education and training sector across Wales are expected to attend the awards ceremony, where dinner will be prepared by chefs from the successful Welsh National Culinary Team.
Deputy Minister for Skills, Jeff Cuthbert said: “Apprenticeship Awards Cymru is about showcasing success and encouraging more businesses to take on apprentices.
“The Welsh Government is committed to creating more apprenticeship opportunities for young people in Wales and continuing to support employers who are willing to offer high quality apprenticeship places. Our Young Recruits Programme supports employers to recruit and train additional young apprentices – 16-24 year olds. This programme has been instrumental in sustaining employer confidence in apprenticeship recruitment.”
The awards are being held on the eve of the NTfW Annual Conference, also at Mercure Cardiff Holland House Hotel, on November 17.
This year’s conference theme, ‘Standing up for Skills’, focuses on the benefits and value of vocational skills and training in working with businesses to deliver for Wales. Further information can be accessed at ntfw.org/ntfw-conference.
Keynote speakers will include the Welsh Government’s Deputy Minister for Skills Jeff Cuthbert, AM.
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