Term dates for the College and University Centre academic year 2024/2025 are now available online.
Public vote
Achiever of the Year
The public vote for the 2024 Achiever of the Year category is now closed. Thank you for your vote. The winner will be announced on the evening of the Apprenticeship Awards.
The public vote
The result of the public vote will be combined with the scores of three independent judges to determine the 2024 Achiever of the Year.
You can read the stories of our inspirational nominees below.
The nominees
Sarah Hyde-Wear - Level 3 Hospitality Supervisor at Fistral Beach Hotel
Sarah is a dedicated member of the restaurant team at Fistral Beach Hotel, described as constantly positive and always making the needs of guests her priority.
As a mature student Sarah was initially apprehensive about returning to education and starting an apprenticeship, but she used this as a challenge to prove to herself and to others that she could do this and excel at it.
Sarah has used what she has learned on her apprenticeship to help the department implement cost saving ideas, an example of this being that the department now saves over £2500 on coffee. She has also implemented operational procedures helping to save department spending on wages. Sarah has also created files with set-up and procedures for different events.
Alongside her apprenticeship, Sarah needed to sit her Level 2 English and Maths Functional Skills qualifications. She had always found these subjects difficult at school, and after talking through her concerns and school experiences with her tutors they arranged for Sarah to take a dyslexia screening, leading to a diagnosis of dyslexia.
After additional one-to-one support sessions and spending a lot of her own time studying to prepare herself for her exams, Sarah successfully passed both her English and Maths courses which was a massive personal and professional achievement for her.
On top this, Sarah has also had to face a lot of personal challenges since the start of her apprenticeship, including navigating her mother’s cancer diagnosis as well as an incident involving her brother and her hip surgery, but she has never let this stop her from achieving her goals.
Sarah is described as always positive at work, showing an incredible balance of excelling in her apprenticeship, tending to her family, and completing her coursework.
Maisie Simpson - Level 3 Marketing Assistant at Cornwall Group Ltd
Maisie began her Marketing Apprenticeship with Truro and Penwith College and the Cornwall Group in October 2022 and has been thriving in her position ever since.
Circumstances meant that Maisie had to find her own place to live in October 2022 aged just 17, but rather than give up on her apprenticeship, it instead fuelled her ambition to complete her apprenticeship and develop her career within the work family she has found at Cornwall Group.
Maisie is largely responsible for Cornwall Group and its associated companies’ social media pages and took it upon herself to burst the Group onto TikTok in February 2023, successfully filming and editing several videos based around the Cornwall Group Apprentice Journey.
Maisie has played an integral role in several major projects, including designing bespoke cookie and fudge boxes. This project involved Maisie meticulously going through 10+ years of photo archive.
Although Maisie’s focus at work is Marketing, she does take on HR duties and has handled switching between the two roles with great ease, which demonstrates incredible time management skills and her drive to develop her skills beyond her apprenticeship.
George Smitheringale - Level 2 Bricklaying at Corbey Construction
George has been recognised as the most improved learner in his group by his tutors, thanks to his outstanding effort in college, and was nominated by his lecturer Wayne for the ‘Endeavour Under Difficult Circumstances’ award at the Truro and Roseland Learning Community Awards 2023.
George, who is diagnosed with Autism, ADHD and has an EHCP (Education, Health, and Care Plan), started working on-site straight after leaving school. It took him a while to find his feet, and there were initial challenges George faced at College due to his SEND (Special Educational Needs & Disabilities).
Once George was settled, he absolutely flourished. George is described by his tutors as a model student with an excellent attitude to learning and completes set tasks to a high standard in both practical and theory. He has gained the respect of all the people he works alongside, from fellow apprentices, older tradespeople, and the site management team.
George has been part of the team at Morrish Homes, Nansledan, Newquay, which has just won a prestigious NHBC Seal of Excellence Award, putting the site in the top 100 in the UK.
George is intending to progress onto a Level 3 Apprenticeship on completion of his Level 2 and continues to work hard in difficult personal circumstances to improve as a tradesman, showing great determination and commitment.
Our sponsors
A huge thank you to our sponsors from across the Cornish business community, without whom the Cornwall Apprenticeship Awards would not be possible.
