Chance to honour Shropshire apprentices in 2025

The competition will once again celebrate the brightest and best workers who are ‘earning while they are learning’ – as well as recognising employers driving ambition and education through their support of apprenticeships.

There will be an overall star apprentice crowned for the Shropshire Council area, and an overall champion for Telford & Wrekin. There are also awards for small, medium and large sized employers.

Individual apprentice categories this year include Construction & Civil Engineering, Health & Social Care, Engineering & Manufacturing, IT & Digital Industries, Creative & Media, Early Years & Education, and Business Legal & Finance.

The competition is backed by some of the county’s biggest and best names, led by headline sponsor Telford College with support from the Marches Careers Hub. Category sponsors include Dyke Yaxley, In-Comm Training, McPhillips, Pave Aways, Purple Frog Systems, J&PR, and Shrewsbury Colleges Group.

The competition is being organised by award-winning Shropshire events company Yarrington, which has years of experience running major awards in other parts of the UK, including apprenticeship awards in the Black Country.

They are working in partnership with Shropshire Business Live TV, which will be filming and streaming the awards for broadcast on multiple platforms.

The awards are free to enter, and nominations are now open. The closing date for entries is June 27th.

To qualify for an individual award, apprentices must be on a current programme in the relevant sector, with a company which is based in either the Shropshire, or Telford & Wrekin local authority areas.

To qualify for a company award, businesses must have at least one operational base in either Shropshire or Telford & Wrekin, and employ current or past apprentices.

Shortlisted finalists will be notified in July, and the awards will be handed out at a glittering presentation night in front of the SBLTV cameras on October 2.

Carl Jones, producer and presenter at SBLTV, said: “We had a brilliant response last year, with nominations exceeding all our expectations, and a sell-out awards dinner. Hopefully this year will be even bigger and better.”

Mark Allsop, managing director of Yarrington, added: “It’s a celebration of the brightest and best apprentices in the county, and the businesses which go the extra mile to support the next generation of skilled staff.”

For all the details – including a few remaining sponsorship opportunities – log onto stwaa.co.uk.

To watch the highlights from the 2024 event, see the SBLTV production, visit https://youtu.be/QTABZnpADiA?si=7VM0EwI49OAYA9j0