{"id":67014,"date":"2016-01-29T08:00:01","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T08:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=dbc5ba89b2745a7ac11a1d5953fbc844"},"modified":"2016-01-29T08:00:01","modified_gmt":"2016-01-29T08:00:01","slug":"press-release-west-midlands-apprentice-wins-national-apprenticeship-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=67014","title":{"rendered":"Press release: West Midlands apprentice wins National Apprenticeship Award"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Joshua, age 24, a Business Analyst with IBM, fought off competition from hundreds of other apprentices around England to be awarded the top prize.<\/p>\n

The awards, now in their twelfth year, are run by the National Apprenticeship Service and recognise excellence in two areas: businesses that grow their own talent with apprentices and apprentices who have made a significant contribution to their workplaces.<\/p>\n

Joshua was chosen as the winner in recognition of the outstanding contribution he has made to IBM United Kingdom since joining as an apprentice in 2013. <\/p>\n

Skills Minister Nick Boles said: <\/p>\n

\n

Congratulations to Joshua for your success at the National Apprenticeship Awards. Apprenticeships truly are set to be one of the great success stories of the decade, and Joshua is a worthy ambassador.<\/p>\n

We are committed to 3 million apprenticeships by 2020 so that even more young people can follow Joshua\u2019s lead and reap the benefits of apprenticeships.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Employment Minister Priti Patel said:<\/p>\n

\n

I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Joshua for his fantastic achievement in being named EAL Advanced Apprentice of the Year at the National Apprenticeship Awards.<\/p>\n

Apprenticeships offer a fantastic way for many young people of all backgrounds to earn as they learn while providing employers with the transferable skills needed to take their business from strength to strength. We currently have record-breaking levels of employment \u2013 and this is boosted by prospects like apprenticeships. I want to see this continue.<\/p>\n

By working closely with businesses and taking steps like rolling out our \u2018Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools\u2019 programme to teach pupils about work experience, apprenticeships and traineeships, we are helping to create an even more flexible and resilient labour market for the future.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Joshua\u2019s role involves working directly with clients to understand requirements and with developers to design, build and test a solution, such as iPad apps and online reporting tools, that meet the client`s needs.<\/p>\n

He joined the IBM in 2013 and demonstrated fearlessness and proactivity, seeking out new projects and roles. He cares about apprenticeships and is an active advocate of the programme, attending various external career events at schools\/colleges and national events. He is passionate about promoting the benefits of apprenticeships and is keen to connect with young people and tell his story. <\/p>\n

On accepting the award, Joshua said: <\/p>\n

\n

After leaving school and working for two years, I discovered I had a passion for IT being excited by the fast-paced, ever-changing industry. So coming across the IBM apprenticeship advertisement, I immediately applied and that`s where my journey began.<\/p>\n

My job is as a Business Analyst on an IBM top global account within Energy and Utilities. I am particularly excited as it is the first time an apprentice has been accepted in this role in four years and have since generated a lot of interest amongst fellow apprentices.<\/p>\n

My apprenticeship has, quite frankly, changed my life. My confidence has grown from being a very shy person to being able to present in front of both client Directors and in local schools to help promote apprenticeships. My personal boundaries are tested and are expanding on a weekly basis and family and friends have noticed that I have grown as a person. I can honestly say that without this apprenticeship I would not be the person I am today.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nadhim Zahawi, the Prime Minister\u2019s Apprenticeship Adviser, who presented the awards, said: <\/p>\n

\n

The Prime Minister is committed to 3 million apprenticeship starts by 2020 and I am excited to have a role in helping to deliver this goal, while pushing to revolutionise the skills of our workforce in Britain. Good quality apprenticeships create a fairer society by giving hard working young people the chance to aim for their dream job whilst playing their part in building a stronger economy for Britain.<\/p>\n

There are many examples of excellent apprenticeships and apprentices in England and these winners are the best of the best. I congratulate Joshua on his success. It\u2019s an honour to have been part of these awards; to play a small part in recognising the effort of so many great businesses and to reward apprentices for their hard work and dedication. All this year\u2019s winners should shout from the rooftops about what taking an apprenticeship has done for them or what hiring an apprentice has done for their business. I am determined that apprenticeships should be given the recognition they deserve, because they absolutely do deserve it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Julia Chippendale, managing director of EAL said: <\/p>\n

\n

We are delighted to be once again sponsoring the Advanced Apprentice of the Year award. As the specialist awarding organisation for industry qualifications, we are ideally placed to understand the importance of apprentices to the future of the UK economy. These awards showcase the outstanding talent among young people in industry who will inspire others to follow them into exciting careers which are driving growth in the UK.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

To view the full list of award winners and finalists or for more information about apprenticeships, search on GOV.UK.<\/p>\n

About the National Apprenticeship Awards<\/h3>\n

The National Apprenticeship Service challenged the nation\u2019s top apprenticeship employers and apprentices to come forward and show how apprenticeships have made a real difference to them. Now in their twelfth year, the National Apprenticeship Awards are an opportunity to highlight the many success stories and the benefits of Apprenticeships.<\/p>\n

There are six employer categories ranging from Small to Macro, and two newcomer categories \u2013 large and SME. Categories are open to employers of all sectors. <\/p>\n

For the fifth year running the very best employer category entries will have the additional bonus of featuring in the prestigious annual Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list. <\/p>\n

There are four apprentice categories, which are: intermediate, advanced and higher apprentice of the year, and the hotly contended apprenticeship champion of the year.<\/p>\n

The National Apprenticeship Service<\/h3>\n

The National Apprenticeship Service supports the delivery of apprenticeships and traineeships in England. It offers free impartial advice and support to employers looking to recruit for the first time or expand their programme. This includes simplifying the process of recruiting an apprentice or trainee through the support of employer focused teams and Find an apprenticeship and Find a traineeship recruitment sites on GOV.UK where employers can advertise their vacancies and potential apprentices or trainees can apply. <\/p>\n

Call 08000 150 600 or search for apprenticeships on GOV.UK to find out more.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joshua White, from Fillongley Coventry, was named the EAL Advanced Apprentice of the Year at an exclusive ceremony at London\u2019s Grosvenor House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67014"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=67014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67014\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=67014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=67014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=67014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}