IT Apprenticeship Awards 2009

Women lead the way in 2009 IT Apprenticeship Awards

Female Apprentices from the NHS, Openreach and Telefonica O2 took three of the four top prizes at e-skills UK's 2009 IT Apprenticeship Awards announced today, with the fourth Award going to a male Apprentice from BT. The Awards, now in their fourth year, aim to recognise exceptional Apprentices who have made a measurable difference to the organisation they work in.

The 2009 winners include:

• Higher Apprentice of the Year: Alice Ryan, Openreach
  Alice is a Customer Service Engineer and an active champion for women in IT and Apprenticeships, frequently representing BT at events and to the media. Alice is the national representative for Openreach’s Apprentices.
• Advanced Apprentice of the Year: Joint Winners: Saffiya Sheikh, Telefonica O2 and Will Osborne, BT
  Saffiya is a Capacity Analyst. She created and leads O2’s Apprenticeship Forum, which provides Apprentices with mentoring, feedback, job-shadowing and work placement opportunities. Saffiya is working with e-skills UK to expand the Forum into a national initiative.
  
  Will Osborne is an Electrical Engineer, who completed his Apprenticeship last year and is about to begin a Master's degree in Energy and Environment. During his Apprenticeship he helped to develop BT’s Networks CO2 Reduction Strategy that will reduce the company’s carbon footprint by 30% and save the company around £40 million a year.
  
• Apprentice of the Year: Lucy Atkinson, NHS Hull Royal Infirmary
  Lucy is an IT Helpdesk Support Officer. She impressed the judges with her inspirational Apprenticeship journey and efforts to improve careers information on Apprenticeships for young people.
  
• Highly Recommended were Richard Fox, from BT, who has cerebral palsy and competed in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics as part of the England Football team; John Clarke, also from BT, who has helped to change the organisational culture by introducing a new Apprentice Alumni network that keeps Apprentices in touch with each other after they have completed the Apprenticeship programme; and India Dalton, a Communications and Information Specialist with the Royal Navy, who is a Deputy Team Leader and represents the Royal Navy in Women’s Rugby League.
  

Karen Price, CEO, e-skills UK, congratulated the winners, saying: "The young people recognised today are an inspiration to other Apprentices within the industry, and I am delighted to congratulate them on their achievements. We hope that these awards will help to encourage more young people to consider an Apprenticeship and a career in IT."

Receiving her award, Alice Ryan said: "I am ambitious and want to lead; and my Apprenticeship is making this possible. I have been given so many opportunities, and I see this award as a launch pad to achieving even more. I don’t think I would have got this far so early in my life without my Apprenticeship."

Will Osborne said: "Being an Apprentice opens doors across the company – everyone is always happy to help an Apprentice in development. I feel I have had the best of both worlds: academic and business."

Saffiya Sheikh added: "The Apprenticeship programme has given me direction and the confidence to push myself. On behalf of my company I actively promote Apprenticeships and careers in IT to others and want to dispel the negative perceptions some girls still have about working in IT."

Lucy Atkinson agreed: "Through my Apprenticeship I am achieving things I never dreamed I could. I have found an energy that didn’t exist before and I want to keep learning."

The IT Apprenticeship Awards complement the National Apprenticeship Awards.

Last modified: 22 Jun 2009