Every year we enjoy taking the time to celebrate the success of our outstanding apprentices but this time around our ‘Apprentice of the Year’ campaign is a little different.
This year, we have five different awards – to celebrate not only our learners but our employers and our coaches too!
The Baltic Apprenticeships Awards 2023 categories are:
- Rising Star Award
- Innovator of the Year Award
- Apprentice of the Year Award
- Employer of the Year Award
- Coach of the Year Award
We received many standout nominations; our employers wanted to showcase their dedicated apprentices and our learners wanted to put forward their committed employers and supportive coaches. You are all champions in our eyes, but we only have five awards to give!
Let’s jump straight into introducing our five incredible winners!
Rising Star Award
Our Rising Star Award goes to… Lauren West!
Lauren is a Level 3 Digital Marketing apprentice at Flame UK.
We asked Flame UK a few questions about Lauren’s progress and we were blown away by Lauren’s dedication to growing professionally!
“Lauren is a real asset to the team. She is always willing to support other team members. She has excellent research and writing skills, along with creative flair and a willingness to carry out any work asked of her, even if it is outside of her comfort zone.”
HOW HAS LAUREN GROWN SINCE JOINING YOUR BUSINESS?
Since starting with us six months ago, Lauren has massively grown in confidence and has now taken on responsibility for specific areas of work within the team. She has delivered a large variety of work – such as blogs, PR, graphics, and social media posts.
In the future, Lauren plans to build on this work including developing the PR strategy and having stories and blogs published on relevant websites.
WHAT HAS LAUREN ACHIEVED SO FAR?
Lauren has achieved excellent PR for the business, including an interview on recycling vapes for BBC radio. She has had articles published on local news sites and business websites such as Business in the Midlands.
Amazing work Lauren, keep it up!
Innovator of the Year
Our Innovator of the Year Award goes to… Teo Abaza!
Teo is a Level 4 Software Developer apprentice at Oasis Studio.
Here is what Oasis Studio had to say about her fantastic work:
“I’ve been working closely with Teo on several complex projects for demanding clients with high expectations, and she has shown nothing but exceptional performance in her role. Her contributions have been instrumental in one of our most successful development projects, which helped our flagship client win 3 prestigious awards in December 2022, these included:
- Best Digital Transformation – Marketing Week Awards
- Best Customer Satisfaction Initiative – Housebuilder Awards
- Best use of Marketing Technology – Construction Marketing Awards
Teo’s significant involvement in this pioneering project demonstrates a remarkable ability to learn new skills and technologies quickly, in a high-pressure, high-stakes environment.”
“Teo has quickly developed into an invaluable member of our team at Oasis Studio since she joined us June last year. From day one she has consistently impressed us with her energy, skills, dedication, and passion for learning.”
“Each Monday Teo prints and pins a motivational quote to the company notice boards. A small gesture that spreads a positive mindset and enforces the Studio’s culture.”
Well done Teo, we are so proud of you!
Apprentice of the Year
Drum roll, please… Our Apprentice of the Year 2023 is James Finlay!
James is a Level 3 Junior Data Analyst at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies.
We asked Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies a few questions about James’ apprenticeship journey and how he has impacted their team:
WHAT HAS BEEN JAMES GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR?
“James’ biggest achievement at Fujifilm has been the pioneering of Tableau within the business. As of the beginning of 2022, James had never used Tableau, but, after attending online sessions with Fujifilm Denmark, he has worked effortlessly to implement Tableau into our business.”
“James’ “best” Tableau dashboard to date is a dashboard which displays data regarding the trainers of specific training items within a specific manufacturing asset. This was created at the behest of the manufacturing manager of the asset, who uses the dashboard regularly. Other manufacturing managers have viewed this dashboard and have now requested that James make one for their assets too.”
HOW HAS JAMES DEVELOPED OVER THE COURSE OF HIS APPRENTICESHIP?
“Throughout his apprenticeship, James has progressed massively in a number of areas, including both technical skills and soft skills. Technically, James has evolved from heavy reliance on the use of Excel for all data needs to having the ability to use more complex software, including Tableau and Alteryx.
In terms of soft skill progression, James has become a more confident employee overall, especially regarding verbal communication during meetings with stakeholders of all levels of seniority, whether they be in-person or over Zoom. James’ written communication has also improved as a result of all of the writing undertaken during the apprenticeship projects, this is most notable in his summary reports, as well as in his emails.”
WHAT IMPACT HAS JAMES HAD ON YOUR BUSINESS?
“Overall, James has brought the business a wealth of technical knowledge which he is always looking to improve upon, as well as an engaged and willing attitude towards any task he is given. Within the immediate team, James has automated many processes which have both given us insights we did not previously have and increased our time efficiency massively. In the wider business, James is an ambassador to what the team can offer, and others are confident in the work James provides, and regularly call upon his assistance for data and other needs.”
“In conclusion, James brings a “can-do-attitude” to work and is always willing to put in extra effort to make sure his work is of the highest quality and delivered in a timely fashion.”
Excellent work James, we can see how you make a significant contribution to the business!
Employer of the Year
Our Employer of the Year award goes to… Ramarketing!
Ramarketing is an award-winning creative, digital & Public Relations Agency, based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Ramarketing’s Level 3 Software Developer apprentice Jasmine Harding nominated her employer as she was thrilled with the support Ramarketing provided her throughout her apprenticeship journey:
“At Ramarketing, I have gone from knowing virtually nothing about Software Development to being a confident full-stack developer, capable of working with systems like WordPress in languages like PHP and Javascript. My line manager, Andy, has guided me through everything I now know about web development while still allowing me to figure things out for myself. Through this, I’ve not only developed key skills in web development but have also gained problem-solving skills and have learned to challenge myself.”
“Throughout the company, all my colleagues at Ramarketing have done their best to make me feel happy at work. Staff welfare is taken incredibly seriously, and any issues we feel we have in the workplace are immediately addressed.
As an apprentice, I have never felt inferior to my other colleagues who are at more advanced stages of their careers. Even the simplest of tasks that I complete are met with genuine thanks and praise. All of my achievements on my apprenticeship have been celebrated company-wide, and even members of staff whom I don’t have much interaction with go out of their way to show their support for my learning.”
Congratulations Ramarketing, we are proud to be working with you!
Coach of the Year
Finally, last but not least… Our Coach of the Year is Jacob Rowbottom!
Jacob is a Junior IT Coach here at Baltic Apprenticeships!
“From day one of my apprenticeship Jacob has provided incredible support to me in every aspect of this apprenticeship. When it came to my work Jacob has been able to provide exceptional feedback in order to strengthen my portfolio even more. This has allowed me to try and achieve the best possible grade.”
“When it came to writing my projects Jacobs’s feedback was so helpful after each submission and the feedback that he provided me each time really helped develop my report writing skills as well as improve how I write technical information which I have been able to apply to my job.”
“Aside from the work Jacob has done he’s also been incredibly welcoming from day one. I’ve been able to have chats with Jacob about almost anything which has really helped settle me and get me ready for each session that is booked. For this reason, I genuinely look forward to sessions with Jacob as I know it’s going to be a good laugh as well as being incredibly informative for my progress.”
Simply superb Jacob – we hope you choose to inspire the next generation of IT professionals with us for many more years to come!
NOMINATE YOUR APPRENTICE FOR OUR APPRENTICE OF THE MONTH AWARD!
The Apprentice of the Month Award is back!
At Baltic, we love to celebrate success. If your apprentice is going above and beyond, why not nominate them for Apprentice of the Month?
To nominate your Baltic apprentice, send us a 200-word nomination to nominations@balticapprenticeships.com
Nominations are open until the 23rd of each month. Any nominations we receive after this date will be considered for the next award.