South and City College Birmingham celebrates success of Employers & Apprenticeships for 10 years

South and City College Birmingham held its 10th annual Apprenticeship Awards evening with guest speaker Gary Cook inspiring future superstars in their areas to keep moving forward.

On Friday 8th March 2024, South & City College Birmingham once again welcomed employers & apprentices to the Macdonald Burlington Hotel for its 10th annual Apprenticeship Awards evening – an event hosted by a combination of its InBusiness branch & Business Services team.

The annual awards are held in honour of Sir Douglas Ellis, who was the Chairman of Aston Villa Football Club and South & City College Birmingham Ambassador. Sir Doug supported the college’s events and activities that gave opportunity to the student experience and championed young people in the West Midlands to access education and training to achieve their career aspirations. His wife, Lady Heidi Ellis, continues to support the college through Sir Doug’s legacy by sponsoring an award every year.

Celebrating the very best of its Apprentices and partner businesses, South & City College Birmingham welcomed winners from 14 different categories – including both small and large employers, to celebrate their achievements and accomplishments from across the last year. As part of the awards, the college welcomed additional guest speakers, William Graves, Regional Fundraiser at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust – to speak on behalf of the college’s chosen charity for 2024, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, and Gary Cook, CEO, Sports Executive – to speak to the award winners and inspire them for their futures.

“The apprenticeship awards was a remarkable success this year. There’s always a surge of enthusiasm when we acknowledge and honour the efforts of our apprentices, staff and sponsors. I was greatly impressed by everyone involved, and we succeeded in hosting an exceptional award ceremony. I’d like to thank all those involved and look forward to working with you more in the future.”

Daniel Belle, Head of Events & Hospitality at South & City College Birmingham

The awards were once again hosted by South & City College InBusiness President, Tom Ross, with key sponsors for the awards also taking to the stage to recognise and celebrate the winners of the night. Sponsors of the 2024 Apprenticeship Awards included:

• AIM
• Balfour Beatty Vinci
• Longrow Capital
• Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce
• REED
• VGC
• Staffordshire University
• Consilium TS
• National Express

“As always I am so proud to see our Apprentices and their companies being recognised for the achievements they’ve done. We have seen some amazing young people and amazing companies here tonight.”

Rebecca Waterfield, Director of Business Development

“The Awards evening was absolutely excellent, it really was. We had some incredible winners and the level of support we get from local business is amazing. The event itself is on another level. When you actually see the calibre of the event, it compares to anything that goes on in the city. From my point of view it really is about the support we get from Birmingham, the students, the staff and importantly from the businesses. Well done all.”

Mike Hopkins, Principal of South & City College Birmingham

Winners throughout the night included:

• Apprentice of the Year – Accountancy/Finance: Georgia Fisher
• Apprentice of the Year – Digital: Aaron Mason
• Apprentice of the Year – Bus & Coach: Trumaine Patterson
• Apprentice of the Year – Construction Trades: Abigail Hamer
• Apprentice of the Year – Construction Professional: Jack Sparrow
• Apprentice of the Year – Construction Higher: Edward Arnold
• Apprentice of the Year – Business Admin: Ellie-Jade Whalley
• Apprentice of the Year – Motor Vehicle: Joseph Sandland
• Apprentice of the Year – Childcare: Georgia Biddle
• Placement Student of the Year: Mohammed Sammad
• Herbert Austin Legacy Awards: Muhammad Sharyar, Sivnand Hareesh, Arjun Kainth, Sophie Swinburn
• SME Employer of the Year: Window Films Direx Ltd
• Large Employer of the Year: Taylor Wimpey
• Sir Doug Special Recognition Award: Callaghan Construction Ltd

National Express, are one of the sponsors for the event and nominee company for winning apprentice, Trumaine Patterson. Rachel James, HR Director at National Express UK, Ireland & Germany, commented: “We are truly leading the way at National Express with our apprenticeship programme. Not only do we offer opportunities to learn skills for life, we also actively encourage current employees to take on apprenticeships to support their personal development for a long and fulfilling career with us.”

“We are particularly proud of Trumaine. His hard work and dedication to his apprenticeship has not only earned him the recognition of Apprentice of the Year, but he has also developed into a fantastic engineer and a true role model to all other apprentices.”

Rachel James, HR Director at National Express UK, Ireland and Germany

To conclude the evening, attendees were invited to take part in a raffle in aid of Birmingham Children’s Hospital, with hundreds of pounds being raised to support the ongoing work that the hospital does on a regular basis.

South & City College Birmingham are incredibly proud of all winners across the evening, both those who are studying towards their apprenticeship completion currently, and would like to thank those employers who have successfully won awards tonight, and those who have sponsored the awards – showing their commitment to the apprenticeship programme and their ongoing work with the college.

Prospective students and the community can find out more information about the event and the InBusiness network on the college website, alongside information about courses, how to apply, and why you should consider making South and City College Birmingham your right choice.