Cumbria County Council’s apprentice team picked up two top awards at the North West Apprenticeship Awards 2019, held in Liverpool yesterday. Facing stiff competition from the region’s top apprentice employers, the team were winners of the The QA Award for Macro Employer of the Year 2019 and The PeoplePlus Award for Recruitment Excellence 2019.
Councillor Sue Sanderson, Cabinet Member for Schools and Learning, said: “What an achievement and fantastic recognition for our apprenticeship team who work incredibly hard to recruit and support hundreds of apprentices across a wide range of professions at the county council.
“Last year alone, they supported over 200 apprentices in their chosen careers in areas like civil engineering, construction, social care, accountancy, firefighting and many more.
“Apprenticeships offer a fantastic opportunity for people to earn while they learn and the overwhelming majority of our apprentices go on to secure permanent employment with the council or move on to further training.”
The awards form a key part of the Department for Education’s wider ‘Fire it Up’ campaign which aims to raise awareness of the variety of apprenticeships on offer for people of all ages and backgrounds and ignite positive conversations around apprenticeships across England.
The North West Apprenticeship Awards showcase the diverse and growing range of sectors engaged with apprenticeships, whilst celebrating the achievements of outstanding apprentices, apprentice employers and individuals to inspire others to follow in their footsteps and champion apprenticeships across the region.
The county council stood out as the best apprentice employer in the region with the awards highlighting its efforts across recruitment, high quality training, diversity and career progression.
People who are interested in finding out more about apprenticeships with Cumbria County Council should visit www.cumbria.gov.uk/apprentice where they can sign up for updates and be the first to know when recruitment opens.