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e-skills UK announces winners of 2007 ICT Sector Apprenticeship Awards

Following the success of the inaugural ICT Sector Apprenticeship Awards in 2006,  e-skills UK today announced the winners of the 2007 Awards at a ceremony at Haberdashers Hall in London. The Awards aim to recognise the outstanding achievement of young people who are working towards or have achieved an Apprenticeship or Advanced Apprenticeship in IT, Telecommunications or Contact Centres.

Michelle Grandon scooped the 2007 ICT Advanced Apprenticeship of the Year Award for her outstanding achievements at BT Openreach, where she is now a fully trained telecoms engineer. Michelle has also been selected as a finalist for the Dyson Young Woman Engineering Apprentice of the Year award and is a qualified 'A1' NVQ Assessor, supporting and assessing other Apprentices within her organisation. 

On receiving her Award, Michelle said: "My Apprenticeship has enabled me to develop not just technical skills, but essential life skills which, I hope, make me a real asset to my employer. When I first started my Apprenticeship I was quite shy but now I thrive on being asked to take charge and to coach other Apprentices."

The ICT Sector Apprenticeship Awards 2007 also included two new categories:  Higher Apprenticeship of the Year and Personal Achiever of the Year.

Higher Apprenticeships contribute towards a foundation degree, providing new employees with a valuable, alternative route to a degree. The Personal Achiever of the Year Award recognises the achievement of an apprentice in overcoming a particular barrier or obstacle to their learning.

The ICT Sector Apprenticeship Awards form part of the Learning and Skills Council’s (LSC) National Apprenticeship Awards.

Other 2007 winners are:

• ICT Apprenticeship of the Year: Andrew Wilson, The Mersey Partnership
• ICT Personal Achiever of the Year: Dean Wronowski, MonkeyDevil Design
• ICT Higher Apprenticeship of the Year: Dominic Jurczynski-Panzeca, Orleans Park School
• Full listing of the winning and highly commended entrants

Karen Price, Chief Executive, 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 and Telecoms."

The winner of the 2006 ICT Sector Advanced Apprenticeship of the Year, John Vickery, went on to claim the 2006 LSC National Apprenticeship award. Since then, John has been to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen and helped to launch the 2007 National Apprenticeship Awards alongside Phil Hope MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Skills.

The ICT Sector Apprenticeship Awards are supported by The Communications Network (TCN), Edexcel and the Information Technologists Company (ITC).  The panel of judges included representatives from across the IT industry including CompTIA, IET, NHS Connecting for Health, Thames Valley University (TVU), Cap Gemini, Connexions and UK Skills.

Posted on 05 Jun 2007