Apprentice of the Year Award

Do you employ a star apprentice? Are you a star employer?

The LSC has launched the 2008 national Apprentice of the Year Awards, which gives YOU the chance to see the achievements of your apprentices recognised. The Apprentice Employer of the Year will also be recognised – could it be YOU?

Apprentice of the Year Award

Do you employ an apprentice who has made a real difference to your organisation, by going beyond everyone’s expectations and delivering measurable benefits? They might have introduced a new idea or initiative that has had a positive impact on the business, or made an important contribution to the development of a product or special project.

Eligibility

Apprentices must be working towards, or have completed, an Apprenticeship or an Advanced Apprenticeship. All applicants must have been in been in Learning and Skills Council funded in April 2005 or started their Apprenticeship since April 2005.

The awards

Two awards are given – for the Apprentice of the Year and the Advanced Apprentice of the Year.

Prizes

• “Apprentice of the Year” or “Advanced Apprentice of the Year” Award status
• Recognition for their hard work through regional and national publicity
• Up to £1000 worth of prizes for the winner
• £500 for the two Highly Commended entrants
• Invites for the apprentice and their family to attend an Oscar-style celebratory awards ceremony at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London on the evening of 10th July 2008

Employer of the Year Award

The Awards also recognise the support and expertise which goes into helping apprentices achieve their full potential. If you can clearly show a dynamic approach to training, together with evidence of commercial gain and positive plans for Apprenticeship training in the future, why not enter in the Employer of the Year category?

The commitment of your company to training its workforce, to embedding a training culture, and to training for the future are all key elements of the judging of this award. If you are a large employer, the judges will also be looking for evidence of activities above and beyond the basic requirements of the Apprenticeship framework, innovative benefits for your apprentices, plus something “special” that makes your Apprenticeship programme stand out from the rest.

The awards

There are four categories within this Award to recognise the different approaches taken to deliver Apprenticeships in organisations of differing sizes. These are:

• Micro Employer of the Year: 1 and 9 employees
• Small Employer of the Year: 10 to 49 employees
• Medium Employer of the Year: 50 to 249 employees
• Large Employer of the Year: over 250 employees

Eligibility

Employers in England, who, during 2007, have Learning and Skills Council funded apprentices within their organisation.

Prizes

“Employer of the Year” status in a given company size category

The business kudos associated with winning an important national award and regional and national publicity

Potential for further recognition as a national “role model” for other employers

Attendance at an Oscar-style celebratory awards ceremony at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London on the evening of 10th July 2008

Other awards

Young Apprentice of the Year – an award for young people in the second year of the increasingly popular 14-16 programme.

Personal Achiever of the Year – an award for Apprentices or Advanced Apprentices who have overcome adversity to succeed on their programme.

More information

For more information and entry forms for all these awards, go to the Apprenticeships website

Closing date: Friday 28th February 2008