Another great evening at the Aspire Awards as apprentices and employers, from the Aspire Shared Apprenticeship Programme, came together to celebrate another year of success. The Awards ceremony took place at The General Offices, Ebbw Vale on 29th November 2018 and was attended by over 120 people that included apprentices, host employers and local partners.
Certificates of recognition were presented to apprentices who had successfully completed frameworks and commenced full time employment. This was followed by presentations to those successful apprentices who completing year one, two and three of the programme. Aspire Programme Coordinator Andrew Bevan also welcomed a new fourth cohort of apprentices to the programme.
On the evening twelve outstanding apprentices and three host employers received awards in a range of categories. However, the main award category winners were:
| 2018 Award Category | Winner | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Rising Star | Jordan Baker | GTEM |
| Outstanding Role Model | Jordan Impey | Eurocaps Ltd |
| Aspire Blaenau Gwent Mentors Award | Macauley Webber | PCI Pharma |
| Host Employer of the Year | PCI Pharma | |
| Apprentice of the Year | Declan Hughes | Continental Teves |
This year’s Apprentice of the Year was awarded to Declan Hughes and presented by Eluned Morgan, AM Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning. Declan, an apprentice at Continental Teves, was nominated by his line manager who highlighted Declan’s work ethic and commitment to both the company and his college theory and practical work.
The scheme was established between industry, education and Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council. It is funded via Welsh Government and Ebbw Vale Enterprise Zone to facilitate and support local businesses by recruiting apprentices, with an aim of filling the growing skills gap within local manufacturing. Initially focusing on engineering, the programme has now developed into providing apprenticeship placements for a wide range of fields that include Mechanical Engineering, Financial, I.T and Commercial Apprenticeship pathways.
Cllr David Davies Executive Member for Economic Development from Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council said:
“I would like to congratulate all the apprentices and employers winning awards and everyone involved in creating such an innovative programme, which addresses both the needs of businesses and apprentices in Blaenau Gwent.
It is essential that apprentices develop new skills, not only in a classroom environment, but also the real life experiences that can only be learnt from the workplace. Aspire cements these two settings to ensure there is a highly skilled workforce for the future.
Aspire is an excellent scheme that has seen employers, education providers, local government and the Welsh Government working together to provide apprentices in the area. It has recently gone from strength to strength with many new employers joining.
This ensures there is excellent training opportunities for people in Blaenau Gwent, as well as ensuring employers can find people with the correct skills to help their businesses thrive.
Additionally there are a number of new plans on the horizon that will help enhance the programme, these include a Technology Centre and Learning Hub, which will be ideally suited for apprentices and companies to develop.”