Enterprise Oxfordshire urges county’s businesses to recognise apprenticeship stars ahead of this year’s National Apprenticeship Week, as key county awards prepare to celebrate 10th anniversary

The Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards launched in 2017, and over the last decade have shone a significant light on the difference that apprenticeships can make to businesses, individuals and the local economy here in the county.

Enterprise Oxfordshire are urging the county’s businesses, apprentices, training providers and schools to nominate their apprenticeship stars for this year’s Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards, as the prestigious county event celebrates 10 years running.

With National Apprenticeship Week set to begin across the UK on Monday – celebrating all things apprenticeships under this year’s theme of ‘Skills for Life’ – now sees the perfect time to give unsung heroes their chance to shine. This year’s Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards features 10 award categories for the 10th year, alongside an overall winner, with categories for everyone who makes apprenticeships thrive here in Oxfordshire.

The full list of awards are as follows:

• Intermediate Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by Abbott Diabetes Care
• Advanced Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by NielsenIQ
• Higher / Degree Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by Grundon
• Special Recognition Award – Sponsored by M Group Highways
• Rising Star Award – Sponsored by Webexpenses
• Shining Star Award – Sponsored by Hill
• Skills Champion Award – Sponsored by The Engineering Trust
• Training Provider Individual Award – Sponsored by Blenheim & Pye Homes
• Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (Less Than 250 Employees) – Sponsored by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
• Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (250 or More Employees) – Sponsored by Assure UK
• Oxfordshire Apprentice of the Year – Chosen by headline sponsor Popham Hairdressing

This National Apprenticeship Week, Oxfordshire Careers Hub (Enterprise Oxfordshire Skills) will also be teaming up with the Career Friendly programme to hold two apprenticeship awareness broadcasts for parents and carers (with young people welcome to attend also) to help them explore the options for their young person when they leave school or college at age 16 or 18.

Guest speakers on the post-16 broadcast include Lisa Marie Perkins from ACE Training who won the ‘Inspiring the Future’ Employer Award at last year’s Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards, alongside Isabel Faulkner, an apprentice at Darcica, an organisation who have benefitted from Enterprise Oxfordshire’s Apprenticeship Levy Support Scheme, securing funds to help retain apprenticeship levy funding here in the county.

Speaking on the post-18 broadcast is Eleanor Jennings, Career Development Manager in the Apprenticeships Team at the University of Oxford, who won the ‘Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (250 or More Employees) Award’ at the awards in 2025, having pledged over £800,000 and committed to annual pledges through the Apprenticeship Levy Support Scheme.

The Apprenticeship Levy Support Scheme forms part of Enterprise Oxfordshire’s Social Contract Programme – funded by the government’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund via Oxfordshire County Council and led by Enterprise Oxfordshire.

Listeners can tune in on Wednesday 11^th February from 18:00 – 19:00 to hear about post-16 options or tune in on Thursday 12^th February from 18:00 – 19:00 to hear about post-18 options.

Helen Brind, Director of Business and Skills at Enterprise Oxfordshire, said: “For a decade now the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards have been at the crux of celebrating what makes apprenticeships such a powerful opportunity here in Oxfordshire.

“Apprenticeships offer individuals the chance to learn on the job, whether that be starting out in their career, upskilling their current role, or changing career path altogether. Not only is winning an Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Award a highly-respected accolade – it shines a spotlight on the experiences that will go on to inspire future apprentices.

“We’d highly recommend parents and carers of school leavers, post-16 and 18, also engage with the Apprenticeship Broadcasts, to get an understanding of what these opportunities have to offer and hear first-hand from those who have experienced apprenticeships.

“Enterprise Oxfordshire is proud to have supported thousands of individuals in the county to find the right skills pathways for them in a whole host of different ways over the years – and this continues to be a real priority for us as we look to the future”.

Enterprise Oxfordshire has demonstrated the importance of supporting Oxfordshire businesses and communities for over a decade, with the new trading name replacing the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) on 1 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.

Since becoming Enterprise Oxfordshire in April, Oxfordshire County Council now act as the organisation’s 100% shareholder, known as a Teckal company arrangement.

The Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards celebration evening will take place on Thursday 21^st May 2026 at the University of Oxford’s recently opened Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities and applicants can enter or nominate until Monday 23^rd February at 23:59.

Find out more about the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards

Find out more about the Apprenticeship Levy Support Scheme

Register for the Apprenticeship Broadcasts for Parents and Carers