Exeter College held its annual awards celebrating exceptional Apprentices and honouring the employers that go above and beyond to encourage these individuals.

For the first time, the event was hosted online, with more than 200 apprentices, employers, key business leaders, friends and family tuning in to find out the results.

Usually hosted at Sandy Park, the ceremony saw the celebration of the achievements of eighteen Apprentice winners, four employer winners and three special recognition awards. The event, kindly sponsored by leading UK construction company Kier, with further support given by Building Greater Exeter, Building Growth South West, Exeter Live Better and St Austell Brewery, took place on Thursday 26th September.

The event was compered by Exeter College Apprentices Jamie Taylor, from Radio Exe, and Ella Hymans, who works within the College’s Apprenticeship Team. The duo presented from across the City, showcasing well-known central sites and introducing guests from across the business community to announce each of the winners.

Imadeddin Razzouk El Attrach, Engineering, Aerospace and Manufacturing Apprentice at HepcoMotion in Tiverton, was awarded the overall ‘Apprentice of the Year.’ Imad joined HepcoMotion as a Higher Level Apprentice and completed his BTEC level 3 with D*, D*, D*.

His manager said, “Imad will move onto the HND, and I am sure he will insist on completing this with his usual Distinction grades. His determination and enthusiasm was evident from his first day – Imad is an extremely motivated and committed person, who always goes above and beyond expectations. I am positive Imad has a very successful career in engineering ahead of him.”

Director of Apprenticeships & Employer Engagement at Exeter College, Mike Blakeley said: “This is without one of the highlights of my year. The number of Apprentices that we have across the College and our employer network, which grows year on year, makes every year so much harder to find the best of the best. The is an unusual event for us –as normally we would holding this at Sandy Park, face-to-face, having the opportunity to congratulate everyone in person. We’ve worked really hard this year to make sure this event continues, and this couldn’t have happened without Kier. Thanks also to all our judges who make the event so special and we really appreciate the input they provided.”

The Apprenticeship team shortlisted winners from each sector to be considered for the award and it was the unenviable task of the Award’s judges to select their overall winner. The judging group was made up of Doug Lloyd from Kier, Matt Bennett from Burrington Estates, Nick Beaton from Northcott Beaton, Julie Hawker from Cosmic, Victoria Hatfield and Exeter City Council, Mac McMaster from The Royal Marines, Lisa Denning from RD&E, and Adam Stone from Rokk Media

Exeter College has a substantial network of more than 950 employers from across the South of England, which support Apprenticeships and work in partnership with the College to provide vital career opportunities to both youngsters starting off in their career, through to those who are developing through work-based training or changing career paths. The employer winners named at the awards were Salty Monk, Simpkins Edwards, Devon County Council and Sitel.

Meanwhile, the special contribution award winners were Maurice Porter from engineering firm HepcoMotion, and Sydney Lovell, an Accountancy Apprentice, recognised as Inspiring Apprentice of The Year. 

John Laramy, Principal at Exeter College, said “I want to say a massive thank you and well done to all of the nominees, to all of the award winners, to the employers who work with us to create such brilliant experiences for our Apprentices and our young people. At Exeter College we have award winning Apprenticeship provision, but it’s not luck – we have great Apprentices, we have brilliant employers and we have a fantastic staff team here. It’s been an unusual year, but actually it’s been a pretty fantastic year, where we have been able to embrace digital technology and we’ve been able to try new things. Thank you all for being part of it.”

The Apprenticeship winners were:

Construction – Technical & Professional – Cleopatra Gatting from Devon County Council

Construction & Trades – Chloe Lintott from Goss Joinery

Accountancy – Natasha Hebditch from South West Water

Business & Professional Services – Nigel Biernacki from RD&E

Data & Science – Emily Lane from South West Water

Digital & Technology – Aikaterini Stergiopoulou from Devon Fire & Rescue Service

Education & Early Years – Maxine Bradley from Mayfield School

Engineering, Aerospace & Manufacturing – Imadeddin Razzouk El Attrach from HepcoMotion

Fitness, Activity Leadership & Leisure – Ben Snow from University of Exeter

Hairdressing & Barbering – Kortnie Jordan from Zaina

Health & Care – Magdalena Skora from Home Orchard

Hospitality & Catering – Joseph Harris from St Austell Brewery

Motor Vehicle, Transport & Logisitics – Christopher Davis from Hendy Care Store

Adult Apprentice – Guy Sanders from GWR

Top Pre-Apprentice – Billy Lorains

Inspiring Apprentice – Sydney Lovell

Overall Apprentice of the Year – Imadeddin Razzouk El Attrach from HepcoMotion

The Employer award winners were:

New Employer of the Year – Sitel

Small Employer of the Year – Salty Monk

Medium Employer of the Year – Simpkins Edwards

Large Employer of the Year – Devon County Council

Outstanding Contribution to Apprenticeships – Maurice Porter from HepcoMotion

For more information on Apprenticeship schemes or to enquire about our services to business, please contact apprentices@exe-coll.ac.uk or 01392 400800.