York trio highlights city’s apprenticeships strength at regional awards

Clifton Green Primary School has won the small business category at the regional National Apprenticeship Awards.

The school, which has 11 apprentices out of a total of 80 staff, will go forward to the national finals in London on 27 November after being recognised for its work supporting apprentices.

Natasha Palmer, Minster FM’s Digital Content Producer, won the Higher or Degree Apprentice of the Year category.

Alan Milner, a Digital Content Executive from LNER, who completed his apprenticeship at City of York Council, was highly commended for his work in championing apprentices.

Lisa Green, Business Manager at Clifton Green Primary School, said: We are thrilled to be recognised for our work with apprentices. Apprenticeships offer us as a school, the opportunity to find the best people for the role, to upskill existing members of staff and support our local community in to work. This recognition and the chance to travel to the national awards compliments our motto ‘Better Never Stops’.”

Cllr Andrew Waller, Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Development, City of York Council, said: “We have a really strong track record of creating high quality apprenticeships in York and I’m delighted that this has been reflected with local success in the regional awards. Apprenticeships can provide a stepping stone to a wide variety of different careers and are a great way for businesses to develop local talent in-house.

“I’d like to wish our ‘York’ finalists the very best of luck in the national finals.”

Anyone wanting further information in recruiting apprentices or finding an apprenticeship in York should contact York Apprenticeship Hub on 01904 553732 or email york.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk

York Apprenticeship Graduation and Awards Ceremony: a celebration of business talent in the city

Over 100 apprentices from across York will be graduating at the seventh York Apprenticeship Graduation and Awards Ceremony next week (8 November).

The event will celebrate the achievements of young people and adults who have successfully completed their apprenticeship qualification and training. They will all receive a certificate presented by The York Guilds.

A total of 35 young people, adults and employers are also in the running for the 2017 York Apprenticeship Awards, which will be presented on the same night at the Grand Opera House.

Co-ordinated by City of York Council’s Skills Team, the awards were first introduced three years ago to recognise the individual and business benefits and excellence in the city’s apprenticeship landscape.

A panel of independent judges have whittled down the shortlist for five categories:

Apprentice of the Year Under 25 (smaller business).
Apprentice of the Year Under 25 (Larger Employer).
Apprentice of the Year Over 25.
Smaller Employer of the Year and Larger Employer of the Year.Julia Massey, City of York Council Skills Team, said: “The nominations show the richness and diversity of apprenticeship talent in York. They highlight how apprenticeship training is supporting the career development of both new recruits and existing staff as well as the growth of York businesses, both large and small.”
Finalists for Employer of the Year are Acorn Finance, Fera Science Ltd, Garbutt & Elliott LLP, Gear 4 Music, Prospect Health and The Smiles Room (Dentist Practice).

Finalists for the Over 25s category include staff working in agriculture business management and the health and care sector.

Finalists in the Under 25s category include new recruits working in accountancy, electrical engineering, chef-ing, digital marketing, science laboratories, front of house, business admin, stone masonry, IT software and dental nursing.

Courage of Acomb Police Officers recognised

Winners announced at North Yorkshire Police’s second Annual Awards ceremony

Single-handedly dealing with a double knife threat, raising thousands of pounds for local youth charities, and supporting a woman in severe distress to get the life-saving help she needed – those were just a few of the stories from North Yorkshire Police’s second Annual Awards ceremony, which was held at the Hospitium in York on Friday (4 November).

The second Annual Awards event, which was introduced to celebrate the achievements of officers and staff who embody the Force’s values of courage, compassion and inspiration, was attended by winners, their families and senior officers.

The officers and staff who received awards included:

PCs Gregory, Ellison, Harvey, Scott and Churchward, and PSCOs Lewis and Taylor from York, who were awarded the silver Courage Award for being first on the scene at a dramatic fatal stabbing incident at a house in Acomb
York PCSOs Dowson, Warburton, Harris, Calpin, Martin and Burgoyne who were awarded the bronze Courage Award for entering a burning building to stop a fire spreading to neighbouring buildings

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Call for nominations for Apprentice of the Year in York

apprenticeships City of York Council is calling for nominations for a set of awards that recognise and celebrate the best apprentices working in the city. The deadline is 7 October 2016.

There are five award categories:

York Apprentice of the Year aged 16-24 (smaller employer)
York Apprentice of the Year aged 16-24 (larger employer)
York Apprentice of the Year (aged 25+)
York Smaller Employer of the Year (less than 50 employees)
York Larger Employer of the Year (50+ employees)

Nominations will be assessed by an independent panel, all nominees will be recognised on the evening and the winners will be presented with prizes supported by the Master Guilds and the council.

For an apprentice to be eligible for an award, they must have completed their apprenticeship qualification between 1 November 2015 and 31 October 2016.

Cllr Keith Aspden, Deputy Leader of City of York Council with responsibility for Economic Development and Community Engagement, said: “Those young people who choose an Apprenticeship do so because they want to commit to a career, and local businesses and employers welcome their choice. This award scheme is a further way in which we can show how Apprentices in York are valued for the business benefits they bring and for the promise of a well-trained workforce in the future. Please do nominate your business’s best Apprentices and give them the recognition they deserve.”

Deadline for submitting nomination forms is Friday 7 October and the nomination form is here: https://www.york.gov.uk/yorkapprenticeships or for more information, please email: york.apprenticeships@york.gov.uk

Finalists Announced for York Apprenticeship Awards

Finalists for the 2015 York Apprenticeship Awards have been announced ahead of the York Apprenticeship Graduation and Awards Ceremony next week.

This year saw more high quality applications than ever before, with nominations for many outstanding apprentices across the city.

The awards will be presented as part of the York Apprenticeship Graduation Ceremony at The Royal York Hotel from 7.30pm to 8.45pm on Thursday 19 November, when over 1,000 apprentices will be eligible to graduate.

This year, there are five categories: Apprentice of the Year aged 16-24 (SME), Apprentice of the Year aged 16-24 (Large Employer), Apprentice of the Year aged 25 or over, Small Employer of the Year and Large Employer of the Year.

The shortlisted nominees are:
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Nominations invited for Adult Learners Awards

Nominations are being called for by City of York Council for the city’s annual Adult Learners Awards which, in the year of the Tour de France coming to York, has an extra award to help celebrate learners’ achievements.

The special cycling-inspired award aims to recognise a learning achievement connected with bikes: maybe someone who’s overcome illness or disability and learned to ride, or perhaps a participant who’s gone the extra mile in the Painting Through York project.