Three wins for Lewisham Council at the London Borough Apprenticeship Awards
Lewisham Council is delighted to have picked up three accolades at the London Borough Apprenticeship Awards, celebrating the exceptional impact apprentices have made across local government in London. The wins were announced at a ceremony which took place at Plaisterer’s Hall on Friday 4th November 2022.
Ryan Robertson-Barnes, a trainee in the Council’s Environmental Services, scooped the coveted Apprentice of the Year award; Brandon Clough, HR and Finance Officer at Edmund Waller School, won Best Apprentice working in schools; while employment adviser Dahlia Parkinson picked up Best Manager or Mentor.
The awards which are now in their 12th year are hosted by London Councils, a cross-party organisation which represents the 32 London boroughs and the City of London, on behalf of its members. This year’s winners were credited with going above and beyond in championing the apprenticeship programmes in their boroughs and inspiring companies to hire more apprentices.
Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz OBE, London Councils Executive Member for Skills and Employment, said:
“London Councils is incredibly proud to celebrate the talented winners of this year’s London Borough Apprenticeship Awards. In our 12th year of celebrating the outstanding achievements of apprentices working for London boroughs and their supply chains, boroughs are delighted to play a part in creating opportunities to unleash the talent in our communities.
“Apprenticeships are dynamic examples of how local government can build up and strengthen the communities they represent and serve, and it has been an honour to shine a spotlight on just a few of these winners today.
“These programmes create meaningful opportunities for individuals of all ages, levels of experience, and backgrounds, providing invaluable training and upskilling for a diverse number of career paths. As well as that, it demonstrates our commitment to embedding another talent pipeline for local government too. All of today’s winners are a showcase for the apprenticeship talent that exists, inspiring peers and future apprentices too.”
Apprentice of the Year – Ryan Robertson-Barnes
Ryan is a Trainee Admin Assistant in Lewisham’s Environmental Services and joined in March 2021. Ryan was on the frontline, ensuring waste services remained operational during this unprecedented period. His exceptional maturity, initiative and professionalism saw him rise to the challenge and provide incredibly well-received customer service.
His commitment is so outstanding, he volunteered a move during his apprenticeship to Fleet Services where a 6-month invoicing backlog had occurred from staff sickness. Single-handedly, Ryan cleared this backlog and ensured the service drew income and balanced its budget.
He is now adept at imparting knowledge to senior colleagues and is always willing to help team members with urgent deadlines and other priorities. The service has been inspired to take on several more apprentices, and Ryan is credited for demonstrating how successful apprentices can be.
Best Apprentice working in Schools: Winner – Brandon Clough
Brandon joined Edmund Waller Primary School as a Finance Apprentice in April 2021 during a period of great challenge, change and uncertainty in education. He goes above and beyond, providing a high-quality finance admin service. He strongly values sustainability, embedding this in working practices across the organisation. Brandon also volunteers to help coach the school football team and offers his IT skills to upskill colleagues.
He’s also overcome adversity – not able to commence his studies with his training provider for several months due to their enrolment backlog and technical issues. Where others would have been frustrated by this, Brandon handled it with enormous patience, resilience and perseverance. He has quickly become a flourishing asset to the school. His aptitude and enthusiasm for greater responsibility has already led to promotion as HR & Finance Officer.
The Andy Scott Award for Best Manager or Mentor: Winner – Dahlia Parkinson
Dahlia Parkinson is an employment adviser at Lewisham Council and managed Lisa Lewis, a Business Admin Apprentice, through a huge career change brought about by the pandemic. Through her compassion and uplifting spirit, she has given Lisa a personal growth mind-set and encouraged her to embrace mistakes as learning, resulting in a huge boost in confidence and readiness to try new experiences.
Dahlia was an instrumental part of the creation of Apprentice drop in sessions to promote peer support, improve apprentice wellbeing and facilitate networking amongst Lewisham apprentices to achieve better apprentice work culture.
Lisa says: “I am eternally grateful to have received her mentorship and guidance. I wish that every apprentice is as lucky as I have been to have their own Dahlia Parkinson.”