London Borough Apprenticeship Awards celebrate the talent unleashed in local communities

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The achievements of a new generation of London local government apprentices have been celebrated at the London Borough Apprenticeship Awards. The Awards recognise the excellence of apprentices working across London local government in a range of sectors including finance, housing, regeneration, and waste and recycling.

London Councils, the cross-party group which represents the 32 London boroughs and the City of London, hosts the awards on behalf of its members. The awards ceremony was held at Plaisterer’s Hall on Friday 4th November 2022 and celebrated the exceptional impact apprentices have made across local government in London.

London boroughs were also celebrated for their work with contractors and supply chains, which is essential in developing quality apprenticeship opportunities that support apprentices and nurture their skills.

This year marks 12 years since the awards began and saw a particularly diverse cohort of winners who have excelled in enriching and empowering their local communities. This year’s winners also went above and beyond in championing the apprenticeship programmes in their boroughs by raising the profile of apprenticeships, particularly around disadvantaged families, strengthening apprenticeship services, and inspiring companies to hire more apprentices.

Winners this year include an apprentice who volunteered to move to another service to successfully clear a six month backlog and balance the budget, another who ensured his company was reaching out to the local community and providing opportunities and training to people who now see apprenticeships as a viable alternative option to university, and a manager who led with kindness and compassion to inspire her apprentice to excel in the face of huge changes brought about by the pandemic.

Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, London Councils Executive Member for Skills and Employment, said:

“London Councils is incredibly proud to celebrate the talented winners of this year’s London Borough Apprenticeship Awards. In our 12th year of celebrating the outstanding achievements of apprentices working for London boroughs and their supply chains, boroughs are delighted to play a part in creating opportunities to unleash the talent in our communities.

“Apprenticeships are dynamic examples of how local government can build up and strengthen the communities they represent and serve, and it has been an honour to shine a spotlight on just a few of these winners today.

“These programmes create meaningful opportunities for individuals of all ages, levels of experience, and backgrounds, providing invaluable training and upskilling for a diverse number of career paths. As well as that, it demonstrates our commitment to embedding another talent pipeline for local government too. All of today’s winners are a showcase for the apprenticeship talent that exists, inspiring peers and future apprentices too.”