Winners are crowned on a huge night of celebration

A stellar line-up of winners have been crowned in the first ever Shropshire Telford & Wrekin Apprenticeship Awards.

A capacity audience of around 250 people gathered at the Mercure Telford Centre Hotel last night where 10 category winners were announced, alongside apprentice of the year champions for both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.

The event has been created to celebrate the brightest apprentices in the area, and recognise employers for their support of apprenticeship programmes.
Luke Courtnell of McPhillips was named Telford & Wrekin apprentice of the year, having also won the construction apprentice of the year award.

Colleagues at the civil engineering firm say he has ‘set the bar for excellence and career progression’ through the McPhillips Apprenticeship Scheme, run in partnership with Telford College.

Luke has risen to assistant site manager in less than two years and has now moved on to a Level 6 NVQ in construction site management.

He now works full time as a business support officer for the office of the chief executive, and achieved a triple distinction in his apprenticeship.

The prize for small employer of the year went to communications firm Connexis of Telford. Since 2009, four out of five of its engineers have joined as apprentices, and one has now risen to become a director.

The competition was backed by some of the county’s biggest and best names, led by headline sponsors Aico of Oswestry and Telford College, and supported by the Marches Careers Hub.

It was organised by award-winning Shropshire events company Yarrington, in partnership with Shropshire Business Live TV which filmed the event for broadcast over the coming days.

Carl Jones, producer and presenter at SBLTV who hosted the awards, said: “The quality and volume of entries surpassed all expectations, and the judges said they faced a very difficult task narrowing down each category to three finalists – let alone choosing the winners.

“It’s been an incredibly successful event, and we’re looking forward to making it a regular fixture on the Shropshire business calendar. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us and made this fantastic event possible.”

Guests were entertained at the end of the evening by award-winning tribute artist Andy James, as Elvis – the legendary singer described as the most famous apprentice in the world, having started his life as a trainee electrician.

Pic: Luke Courtnell, Telford & Wrekin apprentice of the year