Since introducing the annual event a decade ago, it has always been held at the Arc Theatre in Trowbridge or one of the College’s campuses.
This year for the first time to accommodate the growing number of winners, the event was held at Trowbridge Civic Centre and the awards were presented by Michelle Donelan MP.
Tony Basham, Executive Director for Business and Partnerships, said: “The Apprenticeship Awards is one of the highlights in the College’s event calendar and every year we enjoy celebrating the achievements of our apprentices.
“Over the past three years, the College has seen its apprenticeship starts double and so we were delighted to hold this year’s ceremony at the Civic Centre, to be able to accommodate our growing number of apprentice winners and their guests.
“It was a fantastic evening.”
More than 20 individual ‘Apprentice of the Year’ awards were presented in areas such as business administration, hairdressing, architectural joinery, engineering, horticulture and social media and digital marketing.
This year’s winners also included mature apprentices who have chosen to change career or upskill in areas such as HR, Team Leading and Accountancy.
Michelle Donelan MP presented the awards to winners and said she was moved at the inspiring stories every single person had to tell.
A total of 170 guests attended the awards, which included the winners, their family and friends, College staff, employers and VIPs.
The College was delighted to welcome Kathy Collis, Head of Learning and Organisational Development, from Dorset and Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service, who talked about apprenticeships within the fire service and her own progression journey.
In addition to the individual awards, the College presented three employer awards, recognising their journeys on supporting apprentices and being advocates for apprenticeships.
The Smaller Apprentice Employer of the Year Awards was won by A J Reynolds Truck and Van Services from Frome, Mander Duffill won the Medium Apprentices Employer Award and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust was awarded Large Apprenticeship Employer of the Year.
At the end of the evening Principal Amanda Burnside presented one surprise final award for ‘Outstanding Apprentice of the Year’ to one of the winners.
This year, the award went to Nicole Fever, who completed a Level 4 Engineering apprenticeship with Steve Vick International.
Nicole, aged 26, who lives in Bradford on Avon said: “The awards ceremony was really amazing.
“I was amazed to win the engineering award, so to also win the Outstanding Apprentice award, was fantastic.
“To say I was surprised would be an understatement!”
To see more photographs from the Apprenticeship Awards, visit our Facebook page.
