Victoria Dempsey was named best female building and electrical skills apprentice of the year 2009 in the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) awards.

And 2010 Rotherham’s apprentice plumber and gas fitter Emma Pryce was successful in becoming one of the four finalists in the Female Plumbing Skills category.

2010 Rotherham’s Learning and Development Officer Julia Cadman said: “It is great for our organisation to be recognised as having some of the best apprentices in the UK. All our apprentices are talented and hard working, and are an asset to the customers on whose homes they work. 2010 Rotherham is hugely committed to supporting the development of our future generations. The fact we had two females in the final demonstrates the calibre of our apprentices and 2010 Rotherham’s apprentice scheme.”

2010 Rotherham – which is owned by Rotherham Borough Council - was also honoured for its work in encouraging young people to take up trained apprenticeships in much needed construction skills.

Presenting the awards, Assistant Chief Executive of APSE Mark Bramah said: “These awards help us to recognise the vital contribution made by apprentices to the work of councils in helping to maintain and repair people’s homes and civic buildings across the UK.

“I would like to thank all the councils involved in these awards as providers of excellent training to apprentices and of course it is only right we pay tribute to those individual apprentices who have worked so hard to achieve the vital skills within the construction industry.”

Victoria was one of four winning apprentices at the award ceremony, which took place in Stoke on Trent and was attended by public sector representatives. The categories were: Male Building Skills, Male Mechanical and Electrical, Female Building and Electrical, Female Plumbing Skills. This year, 2010 Rotherham Ltd entered four apprentices.
The APSE Apprentice of the Year Awards for Housing and Building regularly attract top quality apprentices who have to submit a detailed portfolio of work and go through a rigorous panel interview. The scheme has been running successfully for 12 years throughout the UK. 
Julia Gardner of APTUS said: “The quality of the apprentices I see at these awards continues to improve year on year – they are top apprentices with first class skills and fantastic attitudes to their work.”

Neil Vernon of UCATT added: “A steady stream of highly skilled apprentices is bound to emerge from councils if they continue to offer top quality training – investing in staff has an impact on the local community and these people are the most talented of a large number of committed apprentices.”

2010 Rotherham currently has 37 apprentices. At the end of the apprenticeship programme, the trainees are fully fledged tradespersons and are expected to be able to work on their own completing the work of a skilled tradesperson. All apprenticeships within 2010 Rotherham are qualified to level 3, as opposed to the standard level 2 which most companies offer.

Mark added: “These awards exist to recognise the vital contribution made by apprentices to the work of councils in helping to maintain and repair people’s homes and civic buildings across the UK and to highlight individuals as the best apprentices.

“The awards are open to every authority in the UK and are not only to give recognition to future tradespersons, but also to the councils themselves who continue to invest in and provide first class training and employment initiatives in bona-fide Modern Apprenticeship schemes.

“These apprentices are recognised by their employers as people who are making a significant contribution within their local community as representatives of councils and ALMOs (Arms Length Management Organisations). They will go on to become skilled crafts workers and hopefully pass on their knowledge and experience to another generation of apprentices.”