Ford Won the South East Final of the National Apprenticeship Awards

BRENTWOOD, ESSEX UK -- October 15, 2014: Ford and its national dealer network has been named South East Macro Employer of the Year at the 2014 National Apprenticeship Awards.

This is the second time in a row that Ford has won the award, having been short-listed from hundreds of entrants for the South East final. One of Ford’s current Engineering apprentices, Louis Chinea, was also “Highly Commended” in the Advanced Apprenticeship category.

The National Apprenticeship Awards, now in their 11th year, celebrate the achievements of the country’s most outstanding apprentices and apprenticeship providers.

Last year Ford introduced its unique degree-level Higher Apprenticeship programme in Product Development Engineering, as well as a professional level Higher Apprenticeship programme in Finance. This was strengthened this year by the Higher Apprenticeship being rolled out to additional engineering functions and expanding the Business Higher Apprenticeships into IT. This is in addition to the long-running and extremely successful Masters Apprenticeship programme, which recruits 450 new apprentices into the Ford dealer network every year.

Nick Boles MP, Minister for Skills, said: “The National Apprenticeship Awards are an excellent platform to recognise and celebrate the dedication shown by all of the excellent apprenticeship employers and apprentices we have in this country.”

Tessa Hougham, Ford Apprenticeship Manager, said: “Winning the regional finals for the second year running is fantastic news for Ford and all of its apprentices. Our apprenticeship programmes are extremely beneficial to Ford and our network of dealers, and we’re proud to be able to recruit such a wide variety of talented people.”

Ford will now proceed through to a final national judging stage, with the highest scoring entries across the country featuring in the England’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list, produced by the National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with City & Guilds.

The national award winners will be revealed during an awards ceremony at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham on November 13, 2014.