On Wednesday 20th May a glittering awards ceremony was held at the Copthorne Effingham Park Hotel, near Gatwick, to celebrate the LSC South East Awards.
The LSC South East Awards, hosted by popular BBC presenter Claudia Winkleman, celebrate achievement and the culmination of a search to find the most successful learners and employers in the South East region.
Among the award winners was Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) plc which was voted Employer of the Year at the awards. The firm picked up the coveted prize in the larger employer category for its top-class, in-house apprenticeship scheme, which was set up 55 years ago to help young engineers establish themselves in the sector. The award is the latest success for AWE, a weapons factory in Berkshire, as they were awarded prestigious Beacon status earlier this year by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), and received a grade one training report from Ofsted.
Its commitment to staff training has helped 500 trainees rise to managerial and supervisory roles within the company and was described by the judges as a “wonderful example”. Marcus Hutchings, AWE’s technical and craft training manager, said: “We’re delighted that the programme has been recognised with this prestigious award. We have set our standards high and developed an apprenticeship programme that has benefited a huge number of individuals and served our growing skills needs at AWE extremely well.”
When commenting on AWE’s award of Beacon status, Marcus added: “This award is another achievement in a year of outstanding results for the academy team. Our Ofsted grade one was fantastic and proved our excellence in a national context. The Beacon status lifts the success into an exclusive club of providers; we are over the moon.”
Commenting on their achievements, Marinos Paphitis, regional director of LSC South East, said: “This is a company making optimum use of apprenticeships and setting a wonderful example to any employer.”
After triumphing in the South East region, AWE will go on to contest the National Apprenticeship Awards later this year.
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