• Celebrating apprenticeships

Celebrating apprenticeships

"We recognise that the workforce of tomorrow depends on us identifying and investing in talent today, and the academy is a key part of our commitment."

Chan Kataria, Chief Executive

peter brown - bernicea dandy - ryan hill-800

Ahead of National Apprenticeship Week, which runs from 4 to 8 March, emh group has held its own awards ceremony to recognise the outstanding achievements of its apprentices and the positive impact they have made on the business.

The personal legacy of the group’s former Chair, Professor Jeffrey Knight, the awards ceremony was attended by all the current apprentices, along with their mentors, senior management, and Board members.

The awards were presented by Professor Knight himself who spoke about the origins of the emh group academy, which was established in 2012 to provide education, training, skills and future job opportunities for local young people. Since then it has won many awards, and emh group has twice been included in the City & Guilds’ Top 100 Apprentice employers list.

The academy has also since widened its remit. With some of its most recent recruits being in their thirties, emh group is keen to show that apprenticeships are not just an alternative to university for school leavers, but are also available for people looking to switch to a more fulfilling career.

The Apprentice of the Year award went to Bernicea Dandy, who completed her multi-trade operative apprenticeship five months ahead of schedule and has progressed onto a single trade in carpentry and joinery. Bernicea was nominated by her mentor at Stephenson College in Coalville for her outstanding commitment and exceptional standard of work.

The Highly Commended Apprentice award went to Ryan Hill, one of the first apprentices to join the organisation in 2012 and now studying towards a Team Leading apprenticeship. The Mentor of the Year award went to Property Services supervisor Peter Brown for his commitment to supporting apprentices.

The organisation is not one to rest on its laurels. “To support our ambition to improve opportunities for people,” says Chief Executive Chan Kataria, “we aim to have delivered 250 apprenticeships and traineeships by 2023. We recognise that the workforce of tomorrow depends on us identifying and investing in talent today, and the academy is a key part of our commitment.”

As part of its latest recruitment drive, emh group will be at Stephenson College in Coalville on Tuesday 5 March, where students will be able to discover the wide variety of apprenticeship opportunities that the group have this year.