Newbury College and UCN announce their 2021 Apprenticeship Award Winners

Newbury College (@newburycollege) and University Centre Newbury (@UCNewbury) have been recognising the incredible contribution that apprenticeships make towards building the future, throughout National Apprenticeship Week, and highlighting some outstanding examples with their annual Apprenticeship Awards.

The highly anticipated Apprenticeship Awards were conducted a little differently this year. Instead of apprentices, employers and other dignitaries meeting up to celebrate the achievements and successes of those who were nominated, the winners were announced throughout the week on the Newbury College and UCN social media channels.

Dr Jo Houghton, Director of Business and Partnerships, UCN and Newbury College, said:

“We are delighted to recognise the hard work and commitment of our apprentices, employers and their supporting network, in what has been a particularly challenging year.

“Apprenticeships are vital in supporting the rebuilding of the economy and enable businesses to recruit and upskill staff with the practical skills and underpinning knowledge that future-proofs their businesses. Now more than ever we want to showcase and support businesses and apprentices to reap the benefits of apprenticeship programmes.”

The winners are:
Best Apprentice in a Small Business – Josie Badman, Harvey’s Insolvency & Turnaround Specialists
Best Apprentice in a Medium Business – Natasha Mathias, Donnington Valley Hotel; The Vineyard Group
Best Apprentice in a Large Business – Danielle Buttle, Blatchford Products Ltd
Best Development Coach – Julie Dodd, Newbury College
Best Workplace Mentor – James O’Hagan, Xtrac Ltd
Best Tutor – Ravinder Kaur, University Centre Newbury (UCN)
Employer Recognition Award (Small Business) – Eat Meets Wets Ltd (The George and Dragon)
Employer Recognition Award (Medium Business – Fundamentals Ltd
Employer Recognition Award (Large Business) – Norma Group Ltd

Newbury College has been supporting the local economy with innovative apprenticeship programmes for over 70 years. In September 2021, they supported the launch of University Centre Newbury (UCN), a partnership of universities and employers which has expanded the region’s Higher Education provision to include Degree and postgraduate Apprenticeship programmes.

Together, Newbury College and UCN are supporting local people and employers to explore opportunities that develop a strong, knowledgeable workforce; meet the changing needs of the economy; encourage career development; and enable them to build the future.