Croydon Council has won two out of the three awards it was nominated for in the prestigious London Borough Apprenticeship Awards 2020.
The council won Best Work with the Supply Chain and Local Businesses to Create New Apprenticeships for its 100 in 100 campaign – part of the council’s award-winning Choose Your Future Campaign – while Nazifa Chowdhury won the Best Progression by an Apprentice Award.
One of the judges, Mary Vine-Morris, said today, “Croydon worked with businesses across the borough, getting them to pledge to create new and exciting apprenticeships for residents of all ages and backgrounds over the course of 100 days. During that time they managed to get 60 employers involved in the campaign, more than 120 new apprenticeship opportunities were created and more than 40 upskilling opportunities. It also created a legacy pipeline of good quality vacancies with excellent candidates.”
The campaign was part of the council’s award-winning Choose Your Future Campaign which encourages young people to make positive life choices.
Twenty-year-old Nazifa is currently working as a full-time apprentice in the council’s financial department and was up against an “outstanding” field of nominees in her section. But judges were impressed by her hard work and the fact she has become a great ambassador for apprenticeships, delivering numerous presentations and constantly encouraging new apprentices.
She said, “When I heard I had won I couldn’t believe it and my heart bounced! The first thing I did was to message the employment team and my manager and then all of a sudden loads of congratulation messages came through. I’m still working from home so I found my dad and he gave me the biggest hug ever!
“Winning this award is really good for Croydon and good for me. I like being an ambassador for my apprenticeship scheme and really believe in the council’s Choose Your Future Campaign. Croydon has a very high proportion of young people and it’s good for them to know there are other routes to success such as apprenticeships.
“This has been a real boost to help my confidence in future and it will look great on my CV when I’m applying for jobs as an accountant one day.”
Croydon Council was also shortlisted in one other category with David Osborne, the council’s cemetery horticultural manager, coming runner-up in The Andy Scott Award for Best Manager or Mentor.
“This is fantastic news and huge congratulations to Nazifa, everyone involved in the 100 in 100 campaign, our economic development team for delivering the campaign, and all of our training providers, employers and managers. I am also so proud that David was nominated for Best Manager or Mentor.
“The fact the council won two out of the five categories in this year’s awards, and came runner-up in a third, shows the absolute importance Croydon places on apprenticeships. The Choose Your Future Campaign is all about helping young people build successful futures and our awards success proves we are at the forefront in equipping residents with hands-on training to help their careers.”
Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed, cabinet member for economy and jobs
If you are interested in starting an apprenticeship then email: apprenticeships@croydon.gov.uk or visit: www.croydon.gov.uk/education/adult/apprenticeships/croydon-apprenticeship-academy-0
