More than 50 employers and apprentices have been recognised in the latest round of National Apprenticeship Awards ceremonies. The event took place for the South East region on Wednesday (October 21), and Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire, and South West, Thames Valley and Solent last night (October 22). Awards and special commendations went to 26 apprentices, aged between 18 and 67 years old, and 28 employers. Sue Husband, director of the National Apprenticeship Service, said that the “winners are the best of the best in the region and I would like to congratulate them on their achievements”. “They deserve to be rewarded for their efforts,” she added. “There has never been a better time to become an apprentice or employ one.” Skills Minister Nick Boles also said that he wanted to pass on “a big congratulations” to all the winners. It comes after awards ceremonies for the North West (including Liverpool, Cumbria and Lancashire), South West, Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands, and North East took place between October 8 and October 15, as reported in FE Week. Awards and special commendations went to 47 apprentices and 53 employers for those regions. Ceremonies for the final two regions will be held next week — for the East of England on Tuesday (October 27) and the East Midlands on Wednesday (October 29). Main picture above: The winners at the Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire awards ceremony Here are the latest winners and highly commended apprentices and employers: South East Winners: McDonald’s Award for Intermediate Apprentice of the Year: Freya Ward, Napier Partnership Ltd EAL Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year: Yasmin Stageman, IBM The Nuclear Decommissioning Site Licence Companies Award for the Higher Apprentice of the Year: Thomas Cope, IBM City & Guilds Award for Apprenticeship Champion of the Year: Martha Kempsford, Kentucky Fried Chicken Unilever Award for Small Employer of the Year: Snow-Camp BAE Systems Award for Large Employer of the Year: Arqiva BT Award for Macro Employer of the Year: Kent County Council EDF Energy Award for Newcomer SME of the Year: Travelbag Rolls-Royce Award for Newcomer Large Employer of the Year: Be Wiser Insurance Highly Commended: Sophie Hannington, Hampshire County Council IBM Emma Pople, IBM Tarnya Gardiner, level three, Base Connections Telemarketing Ltd Daniel Brown, Visa Europe SGN British Army KFC GB Ltd Andreas Stihl Ltd South West, Thames Valley and Solent Winners: McDonald’s Award for Intermediate Apprentice of the Year: Jodie Cook, South West Apprenticeship Company Ltd/Rosebank Health EAL Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year: William Jacobs, IBM United Kingdom Limited The Nuclear Decommissioning Site Licence Companies Award for the Higher Apprentice of the Year: James Garnham, Cisco Systems Ltd City & Guilds Apprenticeship Champion of the Year: Kevin Haydock, Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD), Gosport The E.ON in partnership with the National Skills Academy for Power Award for Medium Employer of the Year: Isys Intelligent Systems BAE Systems Award for Large Employer of the Year: Clarkson Evans Ltd BT Award for Macro Employer of the Year: Amey Plc EDF Energy Award for Newcomer SME of the Year: Buckinghamshire Care Rolls-Royce Award for Newcomer Large Employer of the Year: Microsoft UK Highly Commended: Christopher Daniels, Parsloe Consulting Louise Holton, level two, South West Apprenticeship Company Ltd Jordan Wilshire, level three, Vector Aerospace Helicopter Services UK Jessica Quinn, level four, Cisco Systems Ltd Crayon Limited DAF Trucks Virgin Media Gigney Enterprises CIC Hovis Ltd Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Staffordshire Winners: McDonald’s Award for Intermediate Apprentice of the Year: Laura Broughton, Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service EAL Award for Advanced Apprentice of the Year: Sophie Knight, IBM The Nuclear Decommissioning Site Licence Companies Award for the Higher Apprentice of the Year: Jade Aspinall, MBDA UK Ltd Unilever Award for Small Employer of the Year: Adary Joiners The E.ON in partnership with the National Skills Academy for Power Award for Medium Employer of the Year: Tangerine PR BAE Systems Award for Large Employer of the Year: KMF BT Award for Macro Employer of the Year: United Utilities EDF Energy Award for Newcomer SME of the Year: Metamorphic PR Rolls-Royce Award for Newcomer Large Employer of the Year: ao.com Highly Commended: Zachary Keneally-Smith, Greater Manchester Police John Jones, Keepmoat Regeneration LTD Connor Stevenson, Raise the Youth Foundation Ryan Atwell, Barclays Bank Plc Anna Schlautmann, MBDA UK Ltd Sarah Herrington, United Utilities Wardworth Ltd t/a Ladderstore Heat Trace Ltd; UKFast Aspire Group; Barclays RBB Technology Elior UK [slideshow_deploy id=’40805′]