Gordons is highly commended at the National Apprenticeship Awards

Gordons has been highly commended for its pioneering apprenticeship scheme in the Investors in People Newcomer Employer of the Year category at the National Apprenticeship Awards 2013.

The commendation was announced during the awards ceremony at The Skills Show – the UK’s largest national skills and careers event – which was at the NEC in Birmingham.

Now in its tenth year, the National Apprenticeship Awards celebrate apprentices and employers involved in apprenticeships across England. In particular, the Newcomer Employer category acknowledges employers for their commitment to developing their workforce through apprenticeships.

Gordons won the Newcomer Employer of the Year category at the Yorkshire and Humber regional final which was held in Leeds in September, before being shortlisted alongside PwC who won in the London final and HSBC Bank who won in the Midlands.

In addition to being highly commended at the national event, Gordons was also recognised as one of the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers of the Year. The list was compiled by the National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with City & Guilds and was also announced at The Skills Show.

The Rt Hon Alan Milburn, chair of the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, continues to endorse Gordons’ apprenticeship programme and has said: “It is providing a huge opportunity for the kids in its scheme… had it not been for the firm’s scheme, the truth is they would never have had that point-of-entry.”