National Apprenticeship Awards 2021 national winners unveiled

The 18th Annual National Apprenticeship Awards took place last night, Wednesday 1st December.

For the first time ever a hybrid event was hosted with finalists, sponsors, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi and Minister for Skills Alex Burghart in attendance at 30 Euston Square, London. The event was also live streamed with family, friends and supporters from across the apprenticeship community able to join in the celebrations online.

Strictly Come Dancing and BBC star Dan Walker returned to host the Awards for a second year.

Apprentices, at all levels and from sectors including retail and commercial, digital and manufacturing, alongside employers from the science, public services and engineering and manufacturing sectors were announced as winners. Ten winners and 18 highly commended finalists were recognised from across all nine English regions.

The National Apprenticeship Awards shine the spotlight on business and individual success in apprenticeships, and how apprenticeships can boost business success and lead to dream careers.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said:

I would like to pass on my personal congratulations to all the award winners and highly commended entries.

It was a pleasure to attend the ceremony, and to have the opportunity to take part in a celebration which recognises the very best apprenticeship employers and their dedicated and driven apprentices.

Apprenticeships are key to supporting the country to level up skills and opportunity, and recognising the commitment of these employers and individuals further highlights their importance.

The National Apprenticeship Awards 2021 winners and two highly commended in each category are:

National Result

Category

Employer

Region

Winner

The BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT Award for SME Employer of the Year

Lander Automotive Ltd

West Midlands

Highly Commended

The BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT Award for SME Employer of the Year

Higgins Partnerships

East of England

Highly Commended

The BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT Award for SME Employer of the Year

McCarrick Construction Co Ltd

North East

Winner

The British Army Award for Large Employer of the Year

Wakefield Metropolitan District Council

Yorkshire and the Humber

Highly Commended

The British Army Award for Large Employer of the Year

Great Ormond Street NHS Trust

London

Highly Commended

The British Army Award for Large Employer of the Year

Flagship Housing Group

East of England

Winner

The Maersk Award for Macro Employer of the Year

J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited

West Midlands

Highly Commended

The Maersk Award for Macro Employer of the Year

Lloyds Banking Group

Yorkshire and the Humber

Highly Commended

The Maersk Award for Macro Employer of the Year

Royal Navy

South East

Winner

The NCFE Award for Recruitment Excellence

LabCorp

Yorkshire and the Humber

Highly Commended

The NCFE Award for Recruitment Excellence

Go-Ahead Group

London

Highly Commended

The NCFE Award for Recruitment Excellence

Royal Navy

South East

National Result

Category

Region

Name

Employer

Winner

The Marshall Award for Intermediate Apprentice of the Year

East Midlands

Gemma Smith

Waitrose and Partners

Highly Commended

The Marshall Award for Intermediate Apprentice of the Year

South East

Ben Gray

Slough Borough Council

Highly Commended

The Marshall Award for Intermediate Apprentice of the Year

South West

Henry Powell

Barratt Developments PLC

Winner

The BT Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year

London

Jessica Liddy

Google

Highly Commended

The BT Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year

West Midlands

Gavin Archer

JCB Earthmovers Ltd

Highly Commended

The BT Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year

North East

Eden McGlen

Unipres (UK) Limited

Winner

The Royal Navy Award for Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year

East of England

Adam Hearn

Braintree Precision Components

Highly Commended

The Royal Navy Award for Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year

North East

Kate Todd-Davis

Rolls-Royce plc

Highly Commended

The Royal Navy Award for Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year

North West

Khadija Al-Selini

IBM

Winner

The Lloyds Banking Group Award for Rising Star

West Midlands

Nihal Dhillon

JCB Excavators Ltd

Highly Commended

The Lloyds Banking Group Award for Rising Star

North West

Cameron Ackroyd

Bentley Motors

Highly Commended

The Lloyds Banking Group Award for Rising Star

East of England

Erin Maciejewski

GlaxoSmithKline plc

Winner

The Royal Air Force Award for Apprenticeship Champion of the Year

North East

Ian Green

Nissan Motor Manufacturing

Highly Commended

The Royal Air Force Award for Apprenticeship Champion of the Year

East of England

Claire Wright

Rose Builders

Highly Commended

The Royal Air Force Award for Apprenticeship Champion of the Year

South West

Becca Thurston

Wessex Water

The National Apprenticeship Awards 2021 also recognised how employers and apprentices are contributing to business recovery and highlighting those who have shown their ongoing resilience as we move toward a post Covid-19 world through ‘Apprentices in verified by their employer, as entries for this years’ Special Recognition Award in association with EY – with the winner announced as Paige Orwig from AstraZeneca.

When COVID-19 pandemic was declared and the UK went into lockdown, Paige Orwig was part of a team of Drug Metabolism Pharmacokinetic scientist’s whose work was considered by the government to be essential research for cancer research and as such, when lab work was required, scientists made the exceptional effort to continue to visit the site and carry out their work under extraordinary circumstances.

In April 2020 it was announced that AstraZeneca, GSK and the University of Cambridge would be collaborating to build a lighthouse COVID-19 testing lab. Paige immediately volunteered for this opportunity, willing to put her time, effort and expertise into the fight against this global pandemic.

Within her main role in sample preparation Paige quickly established herself as an organised, professional and extremely capable scientist and within weeks was assigned as deputy team lead for her sample preparation room.

Paige adjusted her study time around her new role, and through all the adversity was successful in her Chemistry Foundation Degree in Chemical Sciences at the University of Kent as well the SIAS Laboratory Scientist Level 5 Apprenticeship with a distinction.

Paige’s exceptional and voluntary support of the Cambridge COVID-19 Test Centre shows her passion for science and improving the lives of patients across all disease areas. Paige quickly became an integral member of the team at the test centre and her hard work posed as an inspiration to her colleagues and fellow apprentices.

Follow @Apprenticeships on Twitter and the National Apprenticeship Service page on LinkedIn to keep up to date with all the latest awards information.