WILTSHIRE College & University Centre took one of its main events online to mark National Apprenticeship Week.
The college reports, “The College’s Apprenticeship Awards are one of the highlights in the academic calendar and an opportunity to celebrate the successes of apprentices and their employers. Due to the pandemic, the annual awards ceremony was unable to take place as normal, so a dedicated webpage was set up instead, to announce all this year’s winners.”
Head of business development Alex Clancy said, “The Apprenticeship Awards are a wonderful way of celebrating the achievements of apprentices and employers and something we look forward to every year.
“I’m delighted we could still mark this occasion during National Apprenticeship Week, and showcase the hard work and effort put in by so many of our apprentices.
“We also wanted to thank the businesses we work with for their continued support in training people to gain nationally recognised qualifications working alongside experienced professionals.”
Each winner received an award in the post, which many said was a wonderful surprise at such a challenging time.
One of those was Joseph White, from Trowbridge who works for Avon Rubber in Melksham and won the Electrotechnical (IT & Telecoms Professional) Apprentice of the Year award. The 20-year-old said, “I was delighted to win an award. The best part of my apprenticeship is that it has helped me to become the person I am today.
“The level 4 helped me develop skills I never knew I had and rewarded me with confidence. It has also shown me how I can apply the knowledge learned into a workplace environment. I’d really like to thank my college assessor, and also lecturer Bob Willcox, who has been with me every step of my journey into IT, and also to Avon Rubber for taking me on as an apprentice.
“Winning this award means a lot to me and goes to show the hard work and dedication I’ve put in over the past few years.”
Melksham Town Council was awarded Small Apprentice Employer of the Year. The mayor, councillor Pat Aves, was delighted to accept the award on behalf of the council, saying: “As mayor of Melksham, I’m incredibly proud of our three apprentices – Alex Bolton from the Assembly Hall team, Dean Goddard, in the amenities team, and Taylor Robinson in the Town Hall team.
“It is great to have this opportunity to recognise them with this award. Our apprentices have become a valuable part of the council staff team, learning from colleagues and improving their skills, while contributing greatly to the work of the council. We’d like to thank our staff for mentoring them, their tutors and also the college for this award. We are sure this is the start of a very successful future for our apprentices.”
The college currently works with 748 businesses across Wiltshire, Dorset and the wider South West region, supporting more than 1,500 apprentices in 72 different programmes.
Apprenticeships range from level 1 right up to degree level and those being nominated for awards must have completed a qualification. This year the college awarded 19 individual and three employer awards.
To see the full list of winners visit www.wiltshire. ac.uk/naw2021-awards.
