Apprenticeships from across England were celebrated at the 2018 National Apprenticeship Awards.

Now in its fifteenth year, the National Apprenticeship Awards celebrate apprentices and apprentice employers across the country, recognising apprenticeships as a fast-track to a great career and business growth.

A Special Recognition Award was presented for the first time and was won by The Armed Forces – The Royal Air Force; Royal Navy and The British Army – for their commitment to apprenticeships. All three services are have been recognised as Outstanding by OfSTED and combined, are the largest apprenticeship employer in England.

Damian Hinds, English Education Secretary, said:

Apprenticeships are an excellent way for anyone to gain new skills and forge a career in anything from aerospace engineering to nursing.

The National Apprenticeship Awards is a fantastic event to celebrate the achievements of apprentices, employers and training providers, and I want to wish all the winners and nominees congratulations on their incredible efforts.

This year’s awards also saw the launch of the new ‘Rising Star’ category. This category showcased the apprentices who have made impressive progress in their careers to date and have the potential to go even further in their chosen profession.

Winning the Rising Star award was intermediate Retail and Enterprise apprentice Joe Buck from the North West.

Joe is employed by Mitchells and Butlers and currently works in Toby Carvery as Duty Manager. Joe has won the first ever ‘Rising Star’ award after being recognised for the exceptional progress he has shown in his role. Joe’s work was recognised as exceptional by a panel of judges and through a public vote where over 7000 people voted for their ‘Rising Star.’

Lauren Carroll, Vocational Learning Attraction Manager at Mitchells and Butlers said:

As one of the first apprentices recruited by Mitchells and Butlers, Joe truly is a shining example of what his employer was aiming to achieve through recruiting apprentices. Joe has gone above and beyond his expected role at Toby Carvery, becoming an expert in both the kitchen and front of house, providing the business strong pipeline for management roles both sides of the pass.

Anne Milton, Apprenticeships and Skills Minister in the English government, said:

A huge well done to all the winners, finalists and rising stars! I have met so many apprentices up and down the country and all of them stars in their own right. Their passion for what they do, their determination to get things done and their drive to get on is so impressive.

The winners tonight will have stepped out of their comfort zone to learn new skills and many will have changed the direction of their life. Congratulations to them all and they should be very proud of all they have achieved.

To see full list of winners from the National Apprenticeship Service visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/apprenticeship-stars-take-centre-stage-at-national-apprenticeship-awards-2018-ceremony