Telford College apprentices picked up a string of prizes at the first ever Shropshire Telford & Wrekin Apprenticeship Awards.

The event, held at the Mercure Telford Centre Hotel, celebrates the brightest apprentices in the area, and recognises employers for their support of apprenticeship programmes.

Among Telford College’s winning apprentices was Luke Courtnell of McPhillips who picked up two trophies – he was named Telford & Wrekin apprentice of the year, as well as the construction apprentice of the year.

Colleagues at the civil engineering firm say he has ‘set the bar for excellence and career progression’ through the McPhillips Apprenticeship Scheme, which is run in partnership with Telford College.

Luke has risen to assistant site manager in less than two years and has now moved on to a Level 6 NVQ in construction site management.

Abigail Jones, of i2r Packaging, was named manufacturing and engineering apprentice of the year, having been described as a ‘trailblazer’ for females in the industry. It adds to the award she won at the college’s 2024 end of year presentation ceremony.

Telford College had all three finalists in the early years and education section, which was won by Kiran Kaur of Trench Tots. The audience were told that the mature student was a ‘huge source of support’ to all that work with and alongside her.

The prize for small-sized apprentice employer of the year went to communications firm Connexis of Telford, which has partnered with the college for well over a decade.

Since 2009, four out of five of its engineers have joined as apprentices, and one has now risen to become a director.

The award for medium sized apprentice employer of the year went to Pave Aways, based near Oswestry – another business with a link to the college.

The competition was backed by some of the county’s biggest and best names, and organised by award-winning Shropshire events company Yarrington, in partnership with Shropshire Business Live TV.

Telford College principal and chief executive Lawrence Wood took part in a question-and-answer session on stage at the event, discussing the importance and diversity of modern-day apprenticeships.