An array of the county’s top apprentices, businesses, education providers and champions of apprenticeships came together this evening (22 May) for this year’s Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards – one of the standout annual business celebration events anywhere in the region. See all the latest posts on our social media wall.
The spectacular awards – now in its ninth year and organised by Enterprise Oxfordshire – saw dozens come together at the spectacular Long Library at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, to celebrate all things apprenticeships.
Supported by a business-led committee, consisting of representatives from across a number of sectors, the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards aims to champion work-based learning excellence in the county.
This year, the event saw winners announced from 12 categories, all of which it is hoped will act as a major inspiration to businesses, encouraging them to explore what an apprenticeship programme could bring to their respective companies.
The headline sponsor for this year’s awards was The Hill Group who selected an overall apprentice of the year from the five apprentice awards.
Other awards sponsors included: Abbott Diabetes Care, NielsenIQ, Siemens Healthineers, M Group Highways, Popham Hairdressing, IST INTECH, Grundon, The Engineering Trust, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Oxfordshire Advanced Skills, Oxford North, Oxford Brookes University, Olamalu and Assure UK.
The awards were hosted by Simon Newton – Joint Managing Director of Darke & Taylor – and Sarah Jaycock, Executive Director of High Spec Composites.
The Blenheim event was also the first year that the awards had been fronted by Enterprise Oxfordshire.
Enterprise Oxfordshire became the new trading name of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) on 1 April this year with the change marking 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.
The overall Oxfordshire Apprentice of the Year was chosen from the winners of the five apprentice award categories by the headline sponsor, The Hill Group. This year, the accolade went to Imani D’Amore, Apprentice Youth Support Worker at Oxfordshire County Council, who also won the Advanced Apprentice of the Year and Special Recognition Award.
Below is a full list of this year’s winners and highly-commended finalists:
Intermediate Apprentice of the Year Award
Sponsored by Abbott Diabetes Care
Winner:
- Jack Robins, Transactional Accounts Assistant – employer: Jonas Europe; training provider: Abingdon & Witney College
Highly commended:
- Abigail Harker, Apprentice Recruitment Administration Assistant – employer: University of Oxford; training provider: GLP Training
- Thomas Nilen, Apprentice Bricklayer – employer: Hummels Brickwork; training provider: Activate Learning
Advanced Apprentice of the Year Award
Sponsored by NielsenIQ
Winner:
- Imani D’Amore, Apprentice Youth Support Worker – employer: Oxfordshire County Council; training provider: UCAN
Highly commended:
- Gabriella Balfour-Allen, Engineering Apprentice – employer: Abbott Diabetes Care; training provider: Oxfordshire Advanced Skills
- Nicholas Fountain, Apprentice Plumber – employer: GasWise Plumbing & Heating Services (UK) Ltd; training provider: Oxford Energy Academy
Higher/Degree Apprentice of the Year Award
Sponsored by Siemens Healthineers
Winner:
- Jessie Weavers-Medina, Centre Administrator – employer: University of Oxford; training provider: Abingdon & Witney College
Highly commended:
- Megan Johnston, Finance Assistant – employer: Blenheim Palace; training provider: Reed Business School
- Faith King, Furniture Apprenticeships Teacher – employer: Activate Learning; training provider: Activate Learning
Special Recognition Award
Sponsored by M Group Highways
Winner:
- Imani D’Amore, Apprentice Youth Support Worker – employer: Oxfordshire County Council; training provider: UCAN
Highly commended:
- Yasmin Betteridge, Youth Work Apprentice – employer: TRAIN – Inspiring Young People; training provider: B Skill
- Scarlet Boyd, Senior Stylist and Colourist – employer: Popham Hairdressing; training provider: Introtrain & Forum Ltd
Rising Star Award
Sponsored by Popham Hairdressing
Winner:
- Adam Hitchman – employer: Signifo Limited t/as Webexpenses; training provider: Abingdon & Witney College
Highly commended:
- Alice Howes, HR Apprentice Assistant – employer: University of Oxford; training provider: Abingdon & Witney College
- Roman Kane, Maintenance Technician Electrical – employer: Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford; training provider: Abingdon & Witney College
Shining Star Award
Sponsored by IST INTECH
Winner:
- Tiffany Hickman, People Apprentice (Learning & Development) – employer: Blenheim Palace
Highly commended:
- Scarlet Boyd, Senior Stylist and Colourist – employer: Popham Hairdressing
- Rossi Salvatore, Product Manager – Retail – employer: Karcher UK Ltd
Apprenticeship Ambassador Award
Sponsored by Grundon
Winner:
- Emilia Reyes Pabon, Apprentice Technician Scientist – employer: University of Oxford
Highly commended:
- Katy Claridge, Architectural Apprentice – employer: Associated Architects
- Tiffany Hickman, People Apprentice (Learning & Development) – employer: Blenheim Palace
Skills Champion Award
Sponsored by The Engineering Trust
Winner:
- Caroline Walton, Director – ELS Awarding Organisation, Explosive Learning Solutions (ELS) Ltd
Highly commended:
- Jo Bennett, Assistant Manager – Fairfield Residential Home
- Helen Cannon, Co-Founder / Directo – Intake Talent
Inspiring the Future Award
Sponsored by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Winner:
- ACE Training
Highly commended:
- Intake Talent
- Morgan Sindall Construction
Training Provider Individual Award
Sponsored by Oxford Brookes University
Winner:
- Jess Greenfield, Apprentice Mentor – South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Highly commended:
- James Barrett, Electrical Tutor – JTL Training
- Rebecca Manger, Assessor – Introtrain & Forum Ltd
Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (Less Than 250 Employees) Award
Sponsored by Olamalu
Winner:
- Fairfield Residential Home
Highly commended:
- Explosive Learning Solutions (ELS) Ltd
- Popham Hairdressing
Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (More Than 250 Employees) Award
Sponsored by Assure UK
Winner:
- University of Oxford
Highly commended:
- Grundon Waste Management
- Oxfordshire County Council
Oxfordshire Apprentice of the Year
Sponsored by The Hill Group
Winner:
- Imani D’Amore, Apprentice Youth Support Worker – employer: Oxfordshire County Council; training provider: UCAN
Nigel Tipple – Chief Executive of Enterprise Oxfordshire – said: “The Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards has always brought together the county’s apprenticeship talent, business leaders and training providers, celebrating real success and ensuring there is a genuine platform to elevate the value of apprenticeships in Oxfordshire.
“It remains key that we all collectively continue to champion apprenticeships, ensuring that they remain in the forefront of people’s thoughts, particularly given the current economic climate.
“I hope that as a collective, we continue to ‘bang the drum’ for apprenticeships in Oxfordshire and beyond, whatever role we are in or the organisation that we represent.”
For more information and details on the award winners and finalists, search for #OAAwards2025 across social media.