Finalists named for Rising Stars 2019
West Berkshire Training Consortium announces the shortlist for its annual awards ceremony at Arlington Arts next month
West Berkshire Training Consortium will host its fifth annual Rising Stars Awards at Arlington Arts on Wednesday, May 15.
Nominations for eight categories were opened to celebrate the very best in local employers, learners, mentors and apprentices.
Now that the judging panel has completed its deliberations the Newbury Weekly News can reveal that the finalists are:
Employer Categories
Large Employer of the Year (250+ employees): Sponsor Newbury Weekly News
Kennet School
Morgan Sindall Investments
Newbury Building Society
Medium Employer of the Year (50-249 employees): Sponsor EJBC Chartered Accountants
James Cowper Kreston
Priors Court School
SPX Flow
Small Employer of the Year (10-49 employers): Sponsor Boomerang Creative
EJBC Chartered Accountants
Royale Refrigeration
V ectorworks
Micro Employer of the Year (9 or fewer employees): Sponsor Vectorworks
Nustream Media
RSK Heating & Plumbing
Sutherland Health
Individual Categories
Workplace Mentor of the Year: Sponsor Benchmark Furniture
Mel Hind – Sovereign
Ian Patterson – Sovereign
Melissa Strong – Bayer Plc
Great Start Learner of the Year: Sponsor James Cowper Kreston
Ella Cox
Thomas Ventham
Leo Williams
Apprentice of the Year (19+): Sponsor SPX Flow
Rushton Games – ATB Accounting
Danielle Harris – Sovereign
Alex Teixeira – West Berkshire Council
Apprentice of the Year (16-18): Sponsor Sovereign
Charlie Bint – SPX Flow
Josh Langford – Berkshire Labels
Alex Painter – Intelligent Retail
WBTC managing director Matt Garvey said: “I would first like to thank our judging panel for their exhaustive and careful work in scoring the anonymised nominations.
“I’d next like to congratulate all of our finalists for being such outstanding role models.
“This is our fifth celebration event and it’s been interesting to see some of last year’s finalists appearing once again in their category, demonstrating consistent levels of excellence.”
All finalists are invited to the Rising Stars Awards where they will receive a finalist medal. The winners in each category will be revealed during the ceremony and they will be presented with their trophies by the sponsors of the event.
“The Rising Stars Awards highlight the awesome work being done by local businesses and apprentices,” added Mr Garvey. “This year’s finalists follow in the footsteps of some notable winners in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
“This year’s winners are a closely-guarded secret and even I don’t know who they are. This makes it a great surprise for all involved.
“I’d like to wish all finalists the best of luck and I look forward to seeing them on the day.”
WBTC has been providing apprenticeships since 1983 and is a charity. For more information visit www.wbtc-uk.com
For free advice about offering apprenticeships email matt@wbtc-uk.com or call 01635 35975.
