Celebrations as winners at University’s Apprenticeship Awards 2024 are revealed
The University of Huddersfield celebrated the achievements of apprentices and their employers at its Apprenticeship Awards 2024.
Held annually the awards are designed to recognise those apprentices that have made an outstanding contribution to their job or workplace, as well as employers that have been pivotal to the University’s apprenticeship programme.
Professor Andrew Ball, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research Innovation and Knowledge Exchange, congratulated each of the six winners as they stepped on stage to claim their prize.
The categories comprised: Level 5 Apprentice of the Year; Level 6 Apprentice of the Year; Level 7 Apprentice of the Year; Apprenticeship Ambassador of the Year: Small Employer of the Year and Large Employer of the Year.
Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Andrew Ball and Director of Apprenticeships Brian CulletonProfessor Ball, along with the University’s Director of Apprenticeships, Brian Culleton, presented the awards at a special ceremony that was held on Campus in the Oastler Building.
“The University of Huddersfield Apprenticeship Awards acknowledge the incredible achievements of our apprentices, their employers, and to name our apprenticeship ambassador for the year,” commented Professor Ball in his speech to the attendees.
“Our teaching colleagues, professional services apprenticeship teams, student services, and our employers have all played a vital part in changing the lives of so many people. As a result, I’m so very proud of our collaborative efforts which are centred on providing the best possible experience for each apprentice.”
The University of Huddersfield offers a number of higher and degree apprenticeships, which are a way for employers to support their staff to study for university qualifications. Apprentices spend part of their time at the University and the remainder at their place of work, benefitting from on-the-job training, enhanced by their degree education. They are able to earn while they are learning, and their training and qualifications are fully funded by their employer.
Level 5 Apprentice of the Year
Michelle Radford, winner of the Level 5 Apprentice of the Year awardMichelle Radford is currently undertaking a Level 5 Professional Manager apprenticeship in the School of Business, Education and Law. She works for Registry in the University of Huddersfield and this course has allowed her to gain vital skills and become an ever more effective member of the team.
Her line manager Andrew Raistrick nominated Michelle for the award, commending her enthusiasm for learning, supportive nature and desire and tenacity in putting her learning into practice. She has also brought back valuable skills to the department and has single-handedly improved the profile of the department across the institution.
Michelle is the University of Huddersfield’s Level 5 Apprentice of the Year for 2024.
Level 6 Apprentice of the Year
Laura Davies receiving the Level 6 Apprentice of the Year awardLaura Davies is a Level 6 Occupational Therapist degree apprentice at Barnsley Hospital NHS FoundationTrust. She was nominated by Timothy Sagripanti in the Barnsley Assistive Technology Team, which she joined in 2023 as a Therapy Assistant before starting the first year of an Occupational Therapist Apprenticeship.
He praised Laura as being a great addition to the team and that they have all been benefiting from the learning she is bringing back to the workplace. He added that Laura shares recent developments in OT theory and practice that have made a positive impact on her colleagues, and applying her emerging OT skills clinically has already led to positive client outcomes.
Laura is the University of Huddersfield’s Level 6 Apprentice of the Year for 2024.
Level 7 Apprentice of the Year
Olivia Sykes receives the Level 7 Apprentice of the Year awardOlivia Sykes is a Level 7 Senior Leader apprentice and is employed by Kirklees Citizens Advice and Law Centre.
Nominating herself, Olivia described how the lessons and skills learned through the apprenticeship have been invaluable, incredible and have had a direct impact in her workplace. She said the course has given her the confidence in her own abilities and to understand where she needs to develop – and that developing skills with the right support is the key to success.
She also praised the teachers on the apprenticeship course adding they have been instrumental to her engagement and application of learning.
Olivia is the University of Huddersfield’s Level 7 Apprentice of the Year for 2024.
Apprenticeship Ambassador of the Year
Rebecca Farrell is the winner of the Apprenticeship Ambassador of the Year awardRebecca Farrell is a Specialist Podiatrist at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust and was nominated for an award by the Podiatry Team Leader, Dawn Stalker.
Dawn described how Rebecca recently started a practice educator facilitator role and is very busy juggling clinical duties in addition to supporting the team. Despite this she goes the extra mile and works very closely with an apprentice to support them and present them with various opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills. She also ensures the apprentice’s placements are utilised to their fullest and makes arrangements for them to gain exposure to as many different services as possible.
Rebecca is the University of Huddersfield’s Apprenticeship Ambassador of the Year for 2024.
Small Employer of the Year
WomenCentre Kirklees receiving the Small Employer of the Year awardWomenCentre Kirklees was presented with the award for Small Employer of the Year, having been nominated by employee and Level 7 Senior Leader apprentice, Sobiya Din.
The centre provides support for women experiencing difficulties with their mental health, helping to address and overcome experiences of sexual exploitation, offering counselling and therapy, and they help vulnerable and marginalised women to have financial security, suitable accommodation and social support to live better lives and avoid future hardship crisis.
WomenCentre Kirklees is supporting Sobiya through her Senior Leader apprenticeship, and she says the number of improvements at the organisation indicates they have truly embraced it. The centre is benefitting from apprenticeships because they are enhancing the work that staff perform at the organisation by understanding theory and linking it into the workplace and passing on that valuable knowledge onto other staff members.
Large Employer of the Year
Yorkshire Ambulance Service wins the Large Employer of the Year awardYorkshire Ambulance Service received the prize for Large Employer of the Year. The NHS Trust employs more than 7,200 staff, who together with over 1,300 volunteers, provide a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, emergency and healthcare service.
The NHS Trust was nominated by Kim Walsh, its Apprenticeship Manager who described how to deliver the best outcomes for patients they need to recruit, develop and retain frontline staff, so have created a clear Pathway-to-Paramedic pipeline through different level apprenticeship programmes into different roles.
She said that the success of apprentices on their career pathway is a great source of pride for the Trust, and they currently have 583 apprentices in total, with 146 enrolled on degree apprenticeships working towards completion. The partnership with the University of Huddersfield enables these degree apprentices to progress in their chosen career pathway.
The trophies for the Apprenticeship Awards 2024 held by The University of HuddersfieldMr Culleton congratulated all six winners on their achievements and thanked the judging panel.
He commented: “I'm extremely proud of the remarkable success of our apprenticeship provision. Last October Ofsted graded us as ‘outstanding’ which is an incredible achievement because only one other university has been graded as ‘outstanding’ in the past four years. Thank you to everyone involved for being part of building such a successful apprenticeship provision.
“Our apprentices’ commitment to their own growth and development, coupled with the encouragement and guidance provided by their employers, has been instrumental in making the University of Huddersfield apprenticeships a resounding success.”
This is the third year that the University of Huddersfield has held its Apprenticeship Awards. It currently offers a total of 14 higher and degree apprenticeship courses within the Human and Health Sciences and Business schools.
The success of the programme saw the University receive an Ofsted outstanding rating for its apprentice provision in 2023 – only the second university to do so in the last four years.
The University will also be launching a Teacher Degree Apprenticeship in September 2025.