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LSC announces winners of 2006 Apprenticeship Awards

British Gas has walked away with the Large Employer of the Year Award at the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) third annual Apprenticeship Awards.

The Apprenticeship Awards are designed to recognise employers who are successfully using Apprenticeships to improve their own business performance.

Willie Nicoll, national training manager at British Gas, which currently employs 650 apprentices, said: "We fully recognise the business benefits of growing our own engineers - they live the culture and our customer service principles are embedded from the very outset."

The LSC says applicants were judged on the implementation of their Apprenticeship programme, a demonstration of how the training has benefited their performance, and the level of support they provide to their apprentices.

Stephen Gardner, director of apprenticeships at the LSC, said: "While great progress is being made in meeting this country’s skills challenges, our research shows that 16 per cent of employers are still reporting skills gaps in their workforces. Therefore, it is imperative that businesses continue to invest in staff training and skills development.

"With this in mind, we are thrilled to recognise those employers who are investing in the skills of young people to safeguard the workforce of the future.

"British Gas and the other winners of this year’s Awards are truly inspirational and set a great example to businesses around the country of what can be achieved within the Apprenticeship programme when committed employers work with young people and providers of training to develop excellence."

Medium employer winner, Derby-based Slack & Parr, has been employing apprentices for nearly 90 years. A finalist at last year’s Apprenticeship Awards, the company believes its approach to on-the-job training has resulted in massive returns.

"Not only have we managed to reduce the effect of the engineering skill shortage," said training manager Bryan Harrison, "but the constant source of a progressive young workforce has enabled us to keep the company at the cutting edge of education and technology."

Berkshire firm Benchmark scooped top prize in the Small Employer of the Year category. Owner Sean Sutcliffe says the company regards the Apprenticeship programme as its "cornerstone for staff development."

Beere Electrical Services triumphed in the Micro Employer of the Year category. The LSC says the Surrey-based electrical contracting firm took top honours this year for its positive and supportive approach to training apprentices.

Speaking at the event, education secretary Alan Johnson said: "It’s no co-incidence that the companies behind these awards are Britain’s most successful. We need to celebrate these success stories; helping us to tackle the inexplicable lack of proper appreciation for vocational excellence that has persisted in Britain for too many years.

"The fact is that there is no better way to learn to be an engineer than by being an engineer; no better method of absorbing an experienced worker’s skills than by watching them in action; and no better system for giving people practical skills for the workplace than extending and encouraging apprenticeships.

"Tonight’s winners prove the success of this approach and the Awards provide a vital showcase, shining the spotlight on some of the quarter of a million apprentices now training with 130,000 businesses –the highest ever and rising."

Awards presenter, Richard Hammond, was also struck by the high calibre of the entrants and said that he was a big advocate of Apprenticeships, for both young people and employers.

He said: "Apprenticeships are one of those happy circumstances where everybody wins: on the one hand you've got apprentices who are getting their career off to the best possible start and on the other hand you've got employers who've put in that bit of extra effort and out of it they get these great employees who are motivated, driven, hard-working and very loyal."

Also speaking at the event, Phil Hope MP minister for skills, said: "Each and every finalist has achieved outstanding success and shown us all how much can be achieved through commitment and purpose. Each one is an inspiration to others who may be considering investing in the benefits of Apprenticeships."

Chris Humphries, director-general of City & Guilds, premier sponsor of the 2006 Apprenticeship Awards, said: "Any business can only be as good as the skills of its workforce, so it’s great to see that the Apprenticeship Awards showcase the very best in staff training.

"We are delighted to sponsor these Awards for the second year running. As well as applauding individual and employer successes, these Awards highlight the real economic benefits that Apprenticeships have to offer.”

The LSC says that Apprenticeships, a combination of on and off-the-job training, are currently providing 130,000 employers with a means to address recruitment difficulties and ensure a skilled and productive workforce.

To showcase the initiatives being developed by employers with Apprenticeship programmes, the LSC launched the Employer Best Practice Guide at the 2006 Awards.

External link

A copy of the Guide can be from: www.apprenticeships.org.uk/employers/howwillithelpme/

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