Top Employers for School & College Leavers Awards: finalists announced
- Emma Finamore
- Last updated 10 Jun 2016
The results are in: the best employers for apprenticeships, school leaver programmes and sponsored degrees, as voted for by those who really matter: school leavers. This time the new Degree Apprenticeships get their very own category.
AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk has revealed the finalists in its fourth annual ranking of the UK’s top employers for school and college leavers, ahead of its awards ceremony at London’s City Hall.
The shortlist, based on the real-life experiences of apprentices and school leaver trainees from 100 UK organisations, features high profile names from the professional services industry, the world of construction and engineering, retail giants like Marks & Spencer, broadcasting companies, and even city councils.
The one thing they have in common? They’ve all been nominated for their exemplary work in developing school leaver opportunities: Intermediate Apprenticeships, Advanced Apprenticeships, Higher Apprenticeships, the new Degree Apprenticeships, school leaver programmes and sponsored degrees.
Young people working in the school leaver training world were asked to complete employee satisfaction surveys, covering every aspect of their working lives, from job satisfaction and career progression, to company culture and work-life balance.
Four of the 29 categories were judged by an industry panel, deciding on awards like the School or College Leaver of the Year award, and the Most Innovative School & College Leaver Recruitment Campaign award – recognising organisations’ forward thinking recruitment methods using modern techniques such as Whatsapp campaigns and online media.
This year AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk has added a new Degree Apprenticeships category, recognising the new programmes launched nationally in 2015.
Industry-specific categories will acknowledge the top employers in their particular fields for the first time this year, for example Top Employer – Public Sector, Top Employer – Engineering and Top Employer – Creative Industries.
Jack Denton, director and co-founder of AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk, said: “Its tough trying to figure out what you want to do with your life and many people never work it out. We think it’s one of the most important decisions in your life and would like to help as many young people as possible figure it out for themselves, in an impartial way. We don’t think there is a ‘best route’ to a career, rather a wide range of routes that each suit different individuals.
“Our awards, solely based on the opinions of the people currently participating in these training programmes, help other young people see which areas employers are excelling in, and who offers them the best opportunities. As our awards have grown over the last few years, we’ve realised how important it is to to make them easy to understand – by adding new industry specific categories we’re helping young people identify the best employers in the sectors they are most interested in.”
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London’s City Hall – in the same room where Sadiq Khan’s victory in the London mayoral race was announced earlier this month – on Thursday 26 May, sponsored by EY and Laing O’ Rourke.
The finalists…
Top Employer – Overall
Finalists and winner to be announced at awards ceremony
Best School & College Leaver Recruitment Website
Balfour Beatty
BDO
Jaguar Land Rover
Laing O'Rourke
National Grid
PwC
Sky
Best Use of Social Media in a School & College Leaver Recruitment Campaign
BDO
EY
IBM
Jaguar Land Rover
National Grid
PwC
Sky
Best Training
Be Wiser Insurance
BMW
Hays Travel
TUI UK & Ireland
Mercedes-Benz
Savers
The National Physical Laboratory
Best for Skills Development
BMW
Busy Bees Training Academy
TUI UK & Ireland
Kennedys
Savers
Schroders
Sky
Best for Career Progression
Barratt Developments
Be Wiser Insurance
BMW
EE
Hazlewoods
Kennedys
Mercedes-Benz
NG Bailey
Best Level of Support
British Sugar
Hays Travel
TUI UK & Ireland
JLL
Mercedes-Benz
Savers
Schroders
Sky
Best for Job Satisfaction
Be Wiser Insurance
Hays Travel
JLL
Mercedes-Benz
NG Bailey
Savers
Schroders
Best Company Culture
Autonet Insurance
EE
Haymarket Media Group
Hays Travel
Mercedes-Benz
Nomura
Savers
Schroders
Best Intermediate Apprenticeship
Autonet Insurance
Barratt Developments
Coventry City Council
DSTL
Hays Travel
Peugeot Citroen Retail Group
Savers
Sky
Best Advanced Apprenticeship
Barclays
Be Wiser Insurance
BMW
EE
J.P. Morgan
JLL
Mercedes-Benz
Nomura
Best Higher Apprenticeship
3M
Barclays
Hanson
J.P. Morgan
National Grid
Smith & Williamson
Visa Europe
Best Degree Apprenticeship
Barclays
BT
Capgemini
IBM
Jaguar Land Rover
Lloyds Banking Group
RBS
Best School Leaver Programme
Accenture
EY
IBM
TUI UK & Ireland
Mazars
National Grid
Schroders
Best Sponsored Degree
Aecom
Barratt Developments
CGI
EY
Laing O'Rourke
Morgan Sindall
PwC
Top Employer - Accounting & Professional Services
Accenture
Crowe Clark Whitehill
EY
Hazlewoods
Mazars
MHA MacIntyre Hudson
PwC
Smith & Williamson
Top Employer - Banking & Financial Services
Autonet Insurance
AXA
Barclays
Be Wiser Insurance
Henderson Global Investors
J.P. Morgan
Nomura
Schroders
Top Employer - Creative Industries
BBC
Creative Pioneers
Ginger Nut Media
Haymarket Media Group
ITV
Sky
Tangerine
Top Employer - Energy & Utilities
Aecom
Anglian Water
BP
EDF Energy
National Grid
Severn Trent Water
Top Employer – Engineering
Bentley Motors
BMW
British Sugar
Jaguar Land Rover
Marshall Aerospace
Mercedes-Benz
NG Bailey
Top Employer - Hospitality & Tourism
Greene King
Hays Travel
InterContinental Hotels Group
TUI UK & Ireland
KFC
Top Employer - IT & Technology
Arqiva
BT
Capgemini
CGI
Fujitsu
IBM
Virgin Media
Visa Europe
Top Employer - Property & Construction
Arup
Barratt Developments
Connells Group
Hanson
JLL
Laing O'Rourke
Morgan Sindall
Top Employer - Public Sector
Civil Service
Coventry City Council
Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
DSTL
National Audit Office
Nottingham City Council
Transport for London
Top Employer - Retail
Boots
EE
Harrods
Marks & Spencer
Peugeot Citroen Retail Group
Savers
Superdrug
School/College Leaver of the Year
Aaron Shearer, Royal Mail Group
Amber Westmoreland, EY
Jemima Armstrong, GSK
Jemma Barrett, KFC
Josie Brazier, Jaguar Land Rover
Rory Milnes, Mindshare via Creative Pioneers
Best School & College Leaver Recruitment Campaign
Civil Service
Escalla
EY
Creative Pioneers
Jaguar Land Rover
Marks & Spencer
Best Use of School & College Engagement in a Recruitment Campaign
Coventry City Council
Jaguar Land Rover
J.P. Morgan
Royal Mail Group
TUI UK & Ireland
Most Innovative School & College Leaver Recruitment Campaign
Coventry City Council
EY
Creative Pioneers
Jaguar Land Rover
Marks & Spencer
Nottingham City Council
Thales
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