Ahead of next year’s Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards – the premier event for the county, championing all things apprenticeships – organisers the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) are on the lookout for more businesses to support the growing celebration which, in 2023, saw its highest-ever number of entries recorded to-date.
As the awards moves into its eighth year, OxLEP Skills are in search of more Oxfordshire businesses willing to support the event through a variety of sponsorship packages, allowing the organisation to showcase apprenticeships – and the value they bring to businesses and young people alike – to an even wider audience across the county and beyond.
WATCH: Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards sponsorship opportunities
Supported by a business-led committee, the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards looks to champion work-based learning excellence across a breadth of sectors. The 2023 event – which took place at Williams Racing Conference Centre – saw winners announced from 12 categories, with 13 awards overall, all of which aim to act as a major inspiration to businesses, encouraging them to explore what an apprentice could bring to their respective organisations.
Next year’s event will once again take place at Williams on 16 May, with competition for the awards set to be its most competitive yet.
The awards are set to be launched on 16 November, with entries for 2024 opening immediately after.
Categories for the awards include:
- Intermediate Apprentice of the Year
- Advanced Apprentice of the Year
- Higher / Degree Apprentice of the Year
- Special Recognition Award
- Rising Star Award
- Shining Star Award
- Apprenticeship Ambassador Award
- Oxfordshire Apprentice of the Year (chosen by headline sponsor)
- Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (<250 employees)
- Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (250+ employees)
- Inspiring the Future Employer of the Year
- Careers Champion Award
- Training Provider Individual Award
Over 170 people came together for this year’s awards, with many more joining it via a live-stream, hosted on OxLEP’s website, and a similar number of people are expected to attend the 2024 awards.
A range of benefits are associated with offering sponsorship for the awards, depending on the package agreed – this could include attendance at the awards, social media promotion and endorsement and regular company logo sharing opportunities.
Businesses can opt to be the awards headline sponsor, an awards sponsor or an awards supporter.
An estimated 46,400 Twitter ‘impressions’ were thought to be associated with last year’s awards with close to 60,000 online profiles seeing social media posts associated with the event.
Sally Andreou – Skills Hub Manager at OxLEP – said: “Apprenticeships provide young people with the opportunity to gain new skills and on-the-job experience, whilst earning a fair wage and obtaining an industry-specific qualification. They each offer fantastic training opportunities to talented individuals and benefit businesses too, with new ideas helping companies to stay ahead of their competitors.
“The 2024 Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards are the perfect moment to not only celebrate individual successes, but also inspire young people and employers across the county to begin their apprenticeship journey.
“If you organisation would like to get behind this prestigious, business-led event, we would be delighted to hear from you and discuss our range sponsorship and supporter options.”
Find out more on the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards 2024 and sponsorship opportunities
