Marshall was proud to sponsor the Intermediate Apprentice of the Year Award at the 18th annual National Apprenticeship Awards, which took place on the 1st of December 2021. The event was held at 30 Euston Square in London and was attended by influential members of parliament, the finalists and industry leaders to celebrate the value and achievements of some of the most talented apprentices in the country.
The evening began with networking, photo opportunities and refreshments. It was great to mingle with the other sponsors and awards finalists who were shortlisted from all the regional winners in their categories.
The awards ceremony was hosted by TV presenter and Strictly Come Dancing contestant, Dan Walker who was both entertaining and engaging. Dan ensured that the evening ran smoothly and threw in plenty of humour to keep the audience laughing.
The ceremony started with a keynote speech from the Secretary of State for Education, Nadhim Zahawi MP who spoke passionately about apprenticeships and T levels. It was encouraging to hear the extent of government support for apprenticeships as routes into industries to fill vital skills gaps and to future-proof organisations.
The first award of the evening was the Special Recognition Award in association with EY, which went to Paige Orwig. Paige works in healthcare for AstraZeneca and she went above and beyond to support their efforts to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. She is a very impressive young lady and a great role model for young women who aspire to work in STEM.
Alex Burghart, Minister for Skills in DfE and Conservative MP for Brentwood & Ongar, was next up to the podium to present his keynote speech, which included a spot-on impersonation of Boris Johnson. Alex spoke about the value apprentices add to the economy and the government's ambitions for the number of new apprentices they would like to see in employment in the coming years, which is great news for Marshall who has a long history of delivering world-class apprenticeships for the aviation industry.
Marshall Aerospace Managing Director, Duncan Eldridge was on hand to present the Marshall Intermediate Apprentice Award. The top spot went to Gemma Smith from the East Midlands with highly commended awards going to Ben Gray from the South East and Henry Powell from the South West.
It was an honour to be part of such an inspirational evening celebrating and uplifting apprentices at all levels across so many sectors. Congratulations to all the regional finalists highly commended apprentices and overall winners.