Celebrating Our Apprenticeship Community during National Apprenticeship Week 2026
To mark National Apprenticeship Week 2026, we were delighted to host our annual Apprenticeship Awards Event, bringing together our apprenticeship community to celebrate achievement, commitment and impact.
With over 180 guests in attendance, including apprentices, line managers, apprenticeship advisors, academic colleagues and employer partners, the event saw a fantastic turnout. We were especially proud to receive a record number of nominations, highlighting the incredible talent and dedication across our programmes. Thank you to everyone who travelled from across the UK to join us and make the day such a success.
We were also pleased to hear from our guest speakers, including Max van den Berg from Transport for London, who shared his journey following the completion of his CMDA apprenticeship, and Joe Camden , who spoke about the benefits apprenticeships bring to their organisation!
A key highlight of the day was recognising individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to our apprenticeship programmes. The awards are voted for by employers, apprentices and university academic staff, reflecting the voices of our wider apprenticeship community.
Congratulations to everyone who was nominated, the impact you are having on your community is evident and congratulations to the winners (listed below)
School of Economics and the School of Arts
L7 Architecture – Ryan Gentry from Turner Jackson Day Associates Ltd
L7 Journalist – Kit Taylor from BBC
L6 Professional Economist – Naseem Alam from Department for Education
Kent Business School
L7 Senior Leader – Ross miller from Commercial Services Group
L7 Operational research Specialist – Jonathan Teagles from Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Security and Net Zero
L6 Chartered Manager – Louise Young from Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
L7 Research Scientist – Joe Thomas from Bristol Myers Squibb
L6 Scientists – Shuhrra Amudi from Reckitt
L6 Clinical Trails Specialist – Jessica Davey from Syneos Health
L5 Technician scientist – Lauren Beasley from Pharmaron
Social Sciences
L6 Social Worker – Rachael Isted from Fostering Together – for children with disabilities
L6 Social Researcher – Emily England from Office of National Statistics
L4 Policy officer – Besart Konjusha from Ofcom
L3 Fundraiser – Clare Saunders from MVA
Overall Apprentice of the Year – Jessica Davey
Apprenticeship Community
Employer of the Year – Kent County Council
Academic of the Year– Rob Bailey
Line manager of the Year – Jeni De’Ath
Apprenticeship Advisor of the Year (Sarah Little John award) – Ryan Stageman MSc
Dr Parminder Sandhu –Freya Ilyas from Reckitt
Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week 2026 and the people who make apprenticeships such a success.
