Our ‘Big Thank You’ to Camden apprentices and employers
We said a ‘Big Thank You’ to Camden apprentices, as well as the staff and employers who support them, at our annual awards event at the Warner Bros. offices in Holborn.
Employers, apprentices and Camden’s apprenticeships team came together on Friday 8 March to celebrate the success of apprentices recruited through our Camden Apprenticeships service and the King’s Cross Construction Skills Centre.
Camden’s free service supports employers to make the most of apprenticeships and recruit the best talent. It also opens up new career opportunities to residents of all ages, with qualifications now available to anyone over 16 and ranging from entry level to degree and masters, as well as some part-time flexible roles.
The Apprentice of the Year 2019 was 21-year-old Tahir Ahmed, community safety and emergency management apprentice with Camden Council.
Camden resident and former Regent High School student Tahir, who lives in Holborn, started his Camden Apprenticeship in November 2017. Tahir had previously studied for a business management degree at university for almost a year but decided it wasn’t for him. After his experience of working with our community safety team on antisocial behaviour issues, Tahir has now decided he’d like to go back to university to study law once he’s completed his training with the Council in May this year.
Tahir said: “The experience I’ve had with Camden Council has helped guide me towards the subject I really want to study at university. I want to help make Camden a better and safer place for all. I’d like to study law and then return to work for Camden Council, or work as a solicitor.”
This year’s winners were:
- Most Improved Apprentice: Sophie Barone, who is an apprentice electrician with Camden Council
- Most Reliable Apprentice: Jason Haddad, apprentice plumber at K10 Apprenticeships Ltd
- Best Team Player: Priya Paul, insurance assistant apprentice with Camden Council
- Best Progression by an Apprentice: Khadiza Khanom, project management apprentice with Camden Council’s economic development team
- Supervisor of the Year: Sophie Wolland, who is Wellcome Collection operations project manager at the Wellcome Trust
- Apprentice of the Year: Tahir Ahmed, community safety and emergency management apprentice with Camden Council.
Also highly commended were:
- Cheerag Jetha, senior sales executive for Just IT, who was highly commended at the awards event for his support in helping seven Camden residents into IT apprenticeships this year
- Richard Merritt, customer service manager at Camden Council, who has been a huge advocate for Camden Apprenticeships, having recruited many apprentices to his team over the years. Richard, who was also highly commended at the awards event, currently has five apprentices working in his team at the Council.
Councillor Abdul Hai, Cabinet Member for Young People and Cohesion, helped to present awards to the winners at Friday’s event.
It was amazing to be able to recognise the talents and contributions of some of Camden’s most outstanding apprentices and employers. Thank you to all our local employers for offering residents of all ages 21st Century job and training opportunities.
One of the strengths of Camden’s apprenticeships programme is the diversity of our candidates. It’s so positive to see so many local people entering and completing their apprenticeships then going onto secure employment or further training and education. We want as many of our residents as possible to benefit from Camden’s vibrant and growing economy, and we’re committed to providing training and career development opportunities, both directly and in partnership with fantastic local businesses.
Businesses also get so much back, when they invest in really committed, hardworking people, with so much potential.
Among the other guests at the event was David Joyce, Camden Council’s Acting Executive Director for Supporting Communities, and Keir Starmer, MP for Holborn and St Pancras.