The eighth annual Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards will once again shine a spotlight on our county’s apprentices – and the businesses and organisations, training providers and schools that support their journey – recognising the huge contribution they make to our county’s economy at a special awards ceremony on Thursday 16 May 2024 at Williams Racing Conference Centre.
We’re delighted to introduce Olamalu as a sponsor of the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards 2024. The team at Olamalu help organisations to work better through their clever use of technology. They build websites, intranets, apps and can solve unique business challenges.
Here, Kate Berman, Director, explains why Olamalu have chosen to sponsor the awards and what apprenticeships mean to them.
Why are you supporting the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards?
The Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards celebrate the valuable role that apprenticeships play in the business community. It’s critical to keep telling stories of successful apprenticeships and raising awareness of the opportunities both to potential apprentices and to local businesses. By supporting these awards, we hope to make clear our commitment to apprenticeships as a way to get started in a career and to develop the skills to succeed in that career.
What would you say to anyone thinking about entering or nominating?
Give it a go! We should all celebrate the achievements of apprentices. There are so many wonderful stories of success to share. And you might inspire someone else to apply for an apprenticeship and start their own amazing apprentice story.
Tell us about your organisation’s experience of apprenticeships
From the moment we started the business, opening up opportunities for young people to join the technology industry has been at the heart of the way we operate. Getting started as a software developer is hard. Companies often only want to hire developers with a degree and several years of experience. We decided to follow a different path and develop our own entry-level programme. Apprenticeships form a vital part of this.
50% of our team came through the apprenticeship route, and our business wouldn’t be where it is today without them. The combination of academic learning and hands-on experience is invaluable for the apprentice and for the wider team. It’s a joy to see our apprentices grow their skills and knowledge and to see them take on bigger roles as they progress.
Our current apprenticeship programme is focused on a degree apprenticeship in digital technologies. This offers the apprentice the chance to earn a degree as they work in the industry, graduating with no student debt and several years’ experience of practical, relevant work. At the end of the apprenticeship, there are opportunities to progress to next level of role and to keep on growing and learning in the ever evolving digital world.
About the awards
The awards will be open for entries and nominations until midnight on the evening of Monday 19 February 2024. Finalists will be announced during Oxfordshire Apprenticeships Hour (hashtag #OAHour) on Twitter @OxonApprentice from 13:00 on Thursday 18 April 2024. Winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony on Thursday 16 May 2024.
If you would like the opportunity to support the awards, please get in touch.
Join us for Oxfordshire Apprenticeships Hour (#OAHour) on Twitter @OxonApprentice from 13:00-14:00 every Thursday for latest on the Awards and join in the conversation using the hashtag #OAAwards2024.