Celebrating apprenticeship awards
Kieran (left) and Chris at the Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin Apprenticeship Awards
Two Shropshire Council employees are celebrating after winning awards at the inaugural Shropshire Telford & Wrekin Apprenticeship Awards 2024.
Kieran Jones, Project Support Officer in the Programme Management Office (PMO) won in the Business, Legal and Finance category, and won the overall Apprentice of the Year (Shropshire).
Chris Sheldon, Social Worker in the Virtual Care Project, which is also part of the PMO, won in the Health and Social Care category.
Awards were held at the Mercure Telford Centre Hotel. Finalists in the individual categories came from across 19 different organisations, so it was a real scoop for the Council to be represented twice, but of course all credit goes to Kieran and Chris and their well-deserved wins.
Said Chris: “I was absolutely overwhelmed to be awarded the apprenticeship of the year in my category. I could not have achieved this without the support and opportunity Shropshire Council have provided me and would like to say a massive thank you to the South Adult Social Care team and the Professional Development team for supporting me through the apprenticeship process. It was a challenging 3 years.
“Now I have completed the apprenticeship and obtained the social work degree, it has opened so many doors for my future professional development. It has given me opportunities such as joining the Virtual Care team in the PMO to enhance my skills as a Social Worker and I will soon undertake the practice educator qualification, so I can support others undertaking the degree”.
Said Kieran: “I feel overwhelmed by what I have achieved. As a teenage schoolboy with no passion for education and struggling with my mental health at school, I am absolutely honoured and proud of my achievements since leaving college and joining Shropshire Council, and collecting these awards on Thursday night was beyond my wildest dreams.
“This means a lot to me and because of the struggles I had in the past, I think this award collection was made extra special giving me a sense of even bigger achievement and looking forward to what else is to come.
“I would like to thank Enable, Hereford, Ludlow and North Shropshire College, but also Shropshire Council for giving me the chance to prove myself and my mum, dad and nan for being beside me from day one. This award is dedicated to them.
“Finally, this is going to help my development because I can use everything that I learnt on the apprenticeship in my new role in the PMO, but it has also given me even more passion and hunger than I already had to achieve more nights like this and I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds. I am hoping to take a level 4 apprenticeship now, to see what more I can achieve and what other doors this can open for me.”
Victoria Doran PMO Manager added: “Both Chris and Kieran have done exceptionally well to win their awards. They have both worked really hard and to have that recognised with well-deserved awards is a fabulous achievement. We are very lucky to have them as part of the PMO team and are really proud of them.”
Gwilym Butler, Cabinet member for Resources said: “Apprenticeships are a great way to earn whilst you learn and develop your confidence and knowledge. They’re incredibly important to us too as our apprenticeship programme encourages and celebrates personal development. Even in times of financial challenges Local Government like Shropshire Council are keen to build upon this so that we can create a happy and healthy workforce with the right skills for our future success as a modern, efficient, sustainable Council.”
