County’s apprenticeship stars prepare for prestigious county awards evening, as Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards celebrate 10th birthday

30 finalists – across 10 awards categories – are set to find out whether they will be crowned winners at the awards ceremony, with an overall ‘Apprentice of the Year’ also set to be announced on the night.

Employers, apprentices and skills champions are set to come together next week (Thursday 21st May) for the 10th annual Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards, as they celebrate a decade of highlighting apprenticeship success at the University of Oxford’s new world-class centre for the arts and humanities.

Bringing together apprenticeship champions from the last 10 years of the awards, along with this year’s much deserving finalists – the awards at the recently-opened Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities are set to highlight the breadth and variation of opportunities available through the apprenticeship pathway.

Organised by Enterprise Oxfordshire (formerly OxLEP), with the support of a business-led awards committee – the event will recognise individual apprentices, but also those associated with championing apprenticeships, with award categories such as ‘Skills Champion’ and ‘Training Provider Individual’ highlighting those who go the extra mile to support and encourage apprentices.

This year’s finalists also showcase the range of apprenticeship opportunities available across sectors within the county, from engineering and advanced manufacturing to health and social care, digital and IT, business and professional services, education and training, hospitality, events, energy, logistics, the creative industries and the public sector.

Since the inaugural awards ceremony in 2017 at the Marlborough Enterprise Centre in Woodstock, the awards have gone on to recognise the achievements of hundreds of apprentices and apprenticeship champions – some of whom will be coming together to celebrate a decade of the awards.

The awards have generated over 800 entries over the last ten years, representing around 230 employers and 110 training providers. This tenth anniversary year will see a total of 116 winners announced, with 320 awards being given out in total to winners and highly commended finalists since the awards began.

Last year’s awards saw 180 individuals come together to celebrate all things apprenticeships at the prestigious Long Library at Blenheim Palace – with the overall ‘Apprentice of the Year’ accolade going to Imani D’Amore, an inspirational Apprentice Youth Support Worker at Oxfordshire County Council. Formerly a care leaver, Imani utilised her apprenticeship to not only springboard her career, but also to advocate for young people through her role.

Preparation for next week’s awards ceremony comes following the announcement last month of major changes to the national skills funding system, replacing the Apprenticeship Levy with a new Growth and Skills Levy – broadening how funds can be used.

Introduced in 2017, the Apprenticeship Levy required qualifying large employers to contribute 0.5% of their annual payroll – over £3 million – into a levy fund that could only be spent on approved apprenticeships.

Alongside apprenticeships, levy funding can now be allocated to shorter and more flexible training opportunities – known as apprenticeship units – enabling businesses to upskill staff in priority areas such as digital, engineering and green technologies.

Enterprise Oxfordshire are set to deliver a comprehensive service for the county’s businesses, including unlocking funds and overseeing levy transfers, continuing on from the success of its’ ‘Apprenticeship Levy Support Scheme’.

Between the launch of the Apprenticeship Levy and March 2026, Enterprise Oxfordshire delivered the following outcomes associated with levy spend and pledges:

• £6.6 million in levy funding utilised through Enterprise Oxfordshire activity – investment that would otherwise have been lost to the county and returned to the Treasury.
• 551 apprenticeship and learner starts achieved across Oxfordshire businesses in a wide range of sectors.
• 276 employers supported by Enterprise Oxfordshire to understand and access the levy.

Helen Brind – Director of Business and Skills at Enterprise Oxfordshire – said: “We’re really looking forward to celebrating the 10th annual Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards next week – a real chance to celebrate a decade of showcasing the talent that apprenticeships provide a platform for.”

“Over the last ten years we have recognised hundreds of the county’s apprentices and apprenticeship champions, and we are looking forward to finding out where those talented individuals are now – as well as crowning a current cohort of brilliant individuals who have chosen the apprenticeship pathway.

“At Enterprise Oxfordshire we remain as committed to recognising apprenticeship talent as we were when we first launched the awards 10 years ago – and we will continue to support our business community to unlock vital opportunities to utilise these, such as through initiatives surrounding the new Growth and Skills Levy.

“To all those nominated at next week’s event – good luck! We hope everyone attending has a great night receiving the recognition they so deserve and as ever are continually grateful to our business supporters and sponsors that allow the event to take place.”

A full list of award finalists are as follows, selected by category sponsors:

Intermediate Apprentice of the Year Award

Sponsored by Abbott Diabetes Care

Finalists:

• Chelsey Church, Apprentice Furniture Manufacturer – employer: Bill Cleyndert & Company; training provider: Activate Learning
• Lily Fogg, Apprentice Commis Chef – employer: Blenheim Palace; training provider: Activate Learning
• Finlay White, Apprentice Bricklayer – employer: OG Stonemasonry; training provider: Activate Learning

Advanced Apprentice of the Year Award

Sponsored by NielsenIQ

Finalists:

• Callum Gordon, Sales Executive Support – employer: Alphabet (GB), BMW Group; training provider: Abingdon & Witney College
• Becson Ody, Apprentice Receptionist and Administrative Assistant – employer: BioEscalator, University of Oxford; training provider: Abingdon & Witney College
• Hayden Lacey, Electronics Engineering Apprentice – employer: Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC); training provider: Oxfordshire Advanced Skills

Higher Apprentice of the Year Award

Sponsored by Grundon

Finalists:

• Ashton Almey, Chartered Management Degree Apprentice – employer: Oxfordshire County Council; training provider: Henley Business School
• Layla Broughton, Associate Accountant – employer: Assure UK; training provider: First Intuition
• Lucy Harold, Trainee Biomedical Scientist – employer: Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; training provider: University of Westminster

Special Recognition Award

Sponsored by M Group Highways

Finalists:

• Tia Curtis-Clarke, Junior Stylist – employer: Kelly’s Hair Oxford; training provider: Introtrain and Forum Ltd
• Adam Hitchman, HR Administrator – employer: Webexpenses; training provider: Abingdon & Witney College
• Kelly Liebermann, IT Principal Support Analyst – employer: Oxfordshire County Council; training provider: Ioda

Rising Star Award

Sponsored by Webexpenses

Finalists:

• Kyume Cox, Carpentry & Joinery Apprentice – employer: Silent View Windows / Thame Builders; training provider: ACE Training
• Tom Grant-Edwards, Electrical Apprentice – employer: Meica Technical Services; training provider: Abingdon & Witney College
• Louise Nicolson, Data Protection and Information Governance Apprentice – employer: University of Oxford; training provider: Damar Training

Shining Star Award

Sponsored by The Hill Group

Finalists:

• Owen Batts, Customer Relations Specialist – employer: Valda Energy
• Isobel Cheshire, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner and Work-Based Tutor – employer: Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
• Dominique Southwick, Finance and HR Manager – employer: Darcica Logistics

Skills Champion Award

Sponsored by The Engineering Trust

Finalists:

• Shilpa Bhatt, Apprenticeships & Widening Participation Lead – employer: Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust & Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care System (BOB ICS)
• Will Gibbs, Construction Skills Project Lead – employer: Abingdon & Witney College
• Gemma Scrivener, Marketing Communications Manager – employer: ACE Training

Training Provider Individual Award

Sponsored by Blenheim & Pye Homes

Finalists:

• Helen Day, Apprenticeship Training Coordinator, Abingdon & Witney College
• Ian Jones, Learning and Development Lead for Nursing Associate Development, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
• Jason Roberts, Electrical Tutor, JTL Training

Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (<250 Employees) Award

Sponsored by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

Finalists:

• Darcica Logistics
• Live Wire Event Solutions
• Valda Energy

Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (250+ Employees) Award

Sponsored by Progress Accountants

Finalists:

• Atlassian Williams F1 Team
• Oxfordshire County Council
• Ridge and Partners LLP

The winners of each category – along with the overall Apprentice of the Year Award – will be announced at the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards 2026 next Thursday (21st May).

Enterprise Oxfordshire became the new trading name of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) in April 2025. The change marked the completion of a two-year process that saw the economic development functions – previously led by Local Enterprise Partnerships – altered so that they were to be overseen via a mechanism agreed by respective upper-tier local authorities, in this instance, Oxfordshire County Council.

Oxfordshire County Council now act as Enterprise Oxfordshire’s 100% shareholder, known as a Teckal company arrangement.

You can also follow the awards on social media via: #OAAwards2026.