We are delighted to introduce Blenheim as the sponsor of the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards 2021 Higher Apprentice of the Year Award.

Head of HR Megan Carter explains why Apprenticeships are so important to Blenheim and why they are sponsoring this Award.

Tell us about your organisation’s experience of Apprenticeships

Blenheim Palace attracts visitors from around the world and is a filming location, a venue for weddings and events, as well as a producer and supplier of Natural Mineral Water. Blenheim Estate is rich in forestry and farming practices, a landowner and construction business with a portfolio of residential and commercial properties. 

It’s also a place where Apprenticeships are valued, with a 10-year plan in place to employ 100 Apprentices in all areas across the Estate, ensuring they are part of day to day life.

Joining the Blenheim Apprenticeship scheme offers you a unique chance to gain hands-on work experience at one of the country's most iconic World Heritage Sites, as well as achieve industry-recognised qualifications. Each year we welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors and are looking for motivated, enthusiastic and positive young people to get involved in national heritage as a career and help provide the best experience possible for them.

At Blenheim, amongst the historical monuments and noteworthy exhibitions, the team bring every element of the business to life; a business that extends to a wider Estate and welcomes anyone with a keen interest in Property, Building & Contracting, Farming, Land Management and much more. We even produce and sell our own mineral water, which comes from a natural spring on the Estate itself. Teams that take on Apprentices include: Marketing, Gardens, Rural Management, Maintenance, Operations, Game, Retail and the Bottling Plant.

Tell us why you’re supporting the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards and why you have chosen to sponsor your particular category 

The Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards are a fantastic way of highlighting how successful Apprentice programmes can be to local businesses. It’s so important to celebrate the successes of what Apprentices achieve individually as well as raising awareness of how vital it is for local firms and businesses to support Apprenticeships across the county.

We have chosen to sponsor the Higher Apprentice Award category because we want to recognise those who have continued with Apprenticeships and really used them to maximize and develop their career.

What are you looking for in the winner of your category?

Someone who has worked extremely hard and is an ambassador for their local community and for Apprenticeships in Oxfordshire, who is dedicated and has made a big impact to their employer.

We had a really difficult time choosing just three finalists from such a strong field! We are delighted to introduce our finalists:

• Nathan Jarvis, Biotechnologist Apprentice - Oxford BioMedica
• Rosie Lay, Associate Project Manager Apprentice – UKAEA
• Callam Woolgar, Software Developer Apprentice - Adactus

The winner will be announced by Megan at a virtual awards ceremony on 6th May from 7pm.

Join the conversation

Join us for Oxfordshire Apprenticeships Hour (#OAHour) on Twitter @OxonApprentice from 1pm every Thursday for latest on the Awards and join in the conversation using the hashtag #OAAwards2021.