Employers are being invited to enter their top apprentices in a national awards competition.
The Department for Business has announced that firms in England can compete to find out who employs the best apprentices.
The awards are run by the national Apprenticeship Service and are open to all businesses that employ apprentices.
John Hayes, Minister of State for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning said:?”I have put apprenticeships at the heart of our skills strategy because they encourage ambition and enterprise, and help drive economic and social progress.
“These awards offer a great platform for young people and employers to gain recognition not just for excelling in their chosen field, but for playing a leading part in that vital process.”
As well as four employer category winners, the 24 best other employers in each category will be honoured in the published Top 100 Apprenticeship employers list.
Applications begin on 18 January 2011 and close on 25 March 2011.
Nomination categories are:
Young Apprentice of the Year (school year 11 only)
Apprentice of the Year
Advanced Apprentice of the Year
Higher Apprentice of the Year
Small Employer of the Year (1 – 24 employees)
Medium Employer of the Year (25 – 249 employees)
Large Employer of the Year (250 – 4,999 employees)
Macro Employer of the Year (5,000 + employees)
More information is available at http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk
