The British Army has been named the best apprentice employer in England in a new list of ‘Top 100 Apprentice Employers’ published by the government.
The Department for Education today released the list, which includes Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in the second-place spot, ahead of the Royal Navy, BT, and MTR Elizabeth Line which is constructing the new Transport for London railway.
The DfE placed itself in 73rd place (see list in full here).
Prime minister Boris Johnson said: “Now more than ever we should celebrate businesses who are driving our efforts to build a stronger, fairer, and more competitive economy.
“These modern employers are at the heart of levelling up our workforce.”
The army scooped first place after helping over 8,000 apprentices “gain new skills and progress” in 2019-2020, the Department for Education said.
Almost a fifth of the army’s workforce are currently on apprenticeship as part of their training – studying areas like engineering, telecommunications, logistics, construction, health and IT.
The assistant head of learning and development for the British Army, Colonel Kate George said those apprenticeships “play a critical part in developing the skills our soldiers need to succeed in their careers and on operations.
“Entering the top 100 awards provides an opportunity to reflect on our own apprenticeship achievements, but also it gives employers the chance to celebrate the achievements of their staff and their apprentices, and the vital role we have as an employer in contributing to changing lives.”
Over 400 applications were received for the list, and the results were announced at a special online event broadcast earlier today.
The rankings were developed by the National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with student and graduate research company High Fliers Research.
Employers were marked on their overall commitment to employing apprentices, their creation of new apprenticeships, the diversity of their new apprentices, and the progression of their apprentices onto further apprenticeships and employment.
Skills minister Gillian Keegan gave a “huge congratulations” to all of the companies who took part, but said it was “fantastic” to see the army recognised “for its incredible support for apprentices and the apprenticeships programme”.
You can see the top ten list of employers, and download the full list of 100 companies, here.
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