The category was sponsored by E.ON, in partnership with the National Skills Academy for Power.
The Awards, now in their twelfth year, are run by the National Apprenticeship Service and recognise excellence in two areas: businesses that grow their own talent with apprentices and apprentices who have made a significant contribution to their workplaces.
The company was chosen as the winner in recognition of its commitment to developing young people through apprenticeships.
Nick Boles, a skills minister, said:
“Congratulations to Genix Healthcare Ltd for their success at the National Apprenticeship Awards. Apprenticeships truly are set to be one of the great success stories of the decade, and Genix Healthcare Ltd is a worthy ambassador.
“We are committed to 3m apprenticeships by 2020, so that even more businesses can follow Genix Healthcare Ltd’s lead and reap the benefits of apprenticeships.”
Priti Patel, an employment minister, said:
“I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Genix Healthcare for their fantastic achievement in being named the E.ON, in partnership with the National Skills Academy for Power, Medium Employer of the year.
“Apprenticeships offer a fantastic way for many young people of all backgrounds to earn as they learn while providing employers with the transferable skills needed to take their business from strength to strength. We currently have record breaking levels of employment – and this is boosted by prospects like apprenticeships. I want to see this continue.
“By working closely with businesses and taking steps like rolling out our ‘Jobcentre Plus Support for Schools’ programme to teach pupils about work experience, apprenticeships and traineeships, we are helping to create an even more flexible and resilient labour market for the future.”
Genix Healthcare Ltd owns and runs 24 dental practices across the UK. Dental nurses play a key role within the practices. There has been a shortage of nurses across the UK over the past few years. Genix Healthcare Ltd recognised the skills gap and introduced apprenticeships in 2011, to support the loss of skills across the industry and to ensure that the company would not be affected. The company has apprentice dental nurses in every one of its practices.
On accepting the award, Mustafa Mohammed, managing director said:
“As a business we have witnessed huge success in employing dental nurses from apprentice level. Apprentices grow with us and build a career and this has been demonstrated with those apprentices that have progressed to practice managers. We have also witnessed great retention rates of apprentices with 75 per cent staying in roles after qualifying.
“The recruitment of apprentices into our business has brought many benefits, not only to Genix as a whole but also to the individuals who work within the business. Apprentices bring a new dynamic to a working environment and other colleagues within the business frequently comment that by introducing new apprentices into the business it brings new blood and life into a team.
“Ultimately, we believe that the mix of apprentices with our more experienced colleagues provides us with a great team dynamic, and we believe this has contributed to reductions in our labour turnover figures.”
Nadhim Zahawi, an apprenticeship advisor to the Prime Minister, presented the awards and commented:
“The Prime Minister is committed to 3million apprenticeship starts by 2020 and I am excited to have a role in helping to deliver this goal, while pushing to revolutionise the skills of our workforce in Britain. Good quality apprenticeships create a fairer society by giving hard working young people the chance to aim for their dream job whilst playing their part in building a stronger economy for Britain.
“There are many examples of excellent apprenticeships and apprentices in England and these winners are the best of the best. I congratulate Genix Healthcare Ltd on their success. It’s an honour to have been part of these awards; to play a small part in recognising the effort of so many great businesses and to reward apprentices for their hard work and dedication. All this year’s winners should shout from the rooftops about what taking an apprenticeship has done for them or what hiring an apprentice has done for their business. I am determined that apprenticeships should be given the recognition they deserve, because they absolutely do deserve it.”
The ceremony also saw Genix Healthcare Ltd named in the prestigious Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer list. The list, which is compiled annually by the National Apprenticeship Service, sponsored by City & Guilds, recognises excellence in businesses that employ apprentices.
Dave Newborough, a HR director from E.ON in partnership with the National Skills Academy for Power, said:
“I would like to congratulate Genix Healthcare Ltd on winning the E.ON in partnership with the National Skills Academy for Power Medium Employer of the Year Award at this year’s National Apprenticeship Awards. These awards showcase and recognise the success apprentices can bring to your organisations and how they help to drive economic growth in England.
“At E.ON we have a rich history of and continue to be committed to apprenticeship programmes. Apprentices have proven to be a productive and effective way to support organisational growth and the opportunity we have to nurture future talent from grass roots is one we should never take for granted.
“Over the last 12 months E.ON have taken over 100 NEET’s through our traineeship programme and we employ over 120 apprentices in both Engineering and Customer Service apprenticeships. The commitment, motivation and innovation they bring to our business is outstanding and we watch with great pride as they build long and successful careers with us and our industry.”
To view the full list of award winners and finalists or for more information about apprenticeships, search on GOV.UK