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Winners celebrated at inaugural University Apprenticeship Awards

Posted Today

The work of apprentices and employers at Harper Adams has been celebrated at the University’s inaugural Apprenticeship Awards.

Attended by apprentices, employers, partners, friends and family, as well as the many Harper Adams employees who work with apprentices, the event saw winners chosen from five degree and higher-level routes offered by the University.

Prizes were awarded to students on the  Food Industry Technical Professional, Veterinary Technician and Environmental Practitioner Degree Apprenticeship Programmes, as well as a prize each for both the Level Six and MProf Rural Chartered Surveyor routes.

The work of the firms offering Apprenticeships in partner with the University was recognised with an award for Employer of the Year.

Finally, prizes were also awarded to the Apprentice most judged worthy by their fellow students, with a Peer Recognition award, and to the apprentice who made an outstanding contribution in the workplace – as chosen by their employers.

Harper Adams Vice-Chancellor Professor Ken Sloan was unable to attend the ceremony in person as he was representing the University in China. However, in a specially recorded message for the event, he said: “This marks a really important moment in Harper’s history - because it’s a time when we celebrate those who are supporters of those who take part in, and those who engage with, our Apprenticeship programmes.

“I do want to say a big thank you to all of our students, our employers, our partners and the parents and families and carers of those who have been doing Apprenticeship programmes.”

Professor Sloan also thanked the event’s sponsors.

Chartered surveyors FGP – who specialise in renewables, utilities and infrastructure - and Dalcour Maclaren, a firm of land and environmental specialists working in the utilities and infrastructure sector, were the lead event sponsors for the evening, with further support from ABP Food Group and National Grid.

He concluded: “I just want to say a big thank you to our Apprenticeship team for the work they do to support us in running these programmes and making them so successful.

“I wish you all the best for an amazing evening, and my many, many congratulations to everyone who is nominated and everyone who wins.”

In total, more than 50 different apprentices and companies were shortlisted across eight different categories.

The winners were:

• Chartered Surveyor Apprentice of the Year 2026:  Pip Maddocks
• Chartered Surveyor MProf Apprentice of the year 2026: Ed Lockwood (accepted in his absence by interim Head of the Harper Adams Business School Emma Pierce-Jenkins.)

• Environmental Practitioner Apprentice of the Year 2026: Grace Glennie-Smith

• Food Industry Technical Professional Apprentice of the Year 2026: Donna Murphy

• Vet Technician Apprentice of the Year 2026: Jorja Snook-Bevis

• Employer of the year: Dalcour Maclaren

• Peer Recognition Award 2026: Cecilia Ordonez

• Outstanding Contribution in the Workplace 2026: Sarah Alderson

Apprenticeships Manager Carol Rogers said: “The awards were a fantastic evening and, as Ken said, a great way to celebrate the contributions our Apprentices make.

“There were fewer than 40 Apprentices when we first began running programmes at ÎÞÂ붯»­ – and there are now more than 300, working right across the country at a diverse range of firms – and each making a difference to their employer and to the sectors we serve.

“I’d like to add my congratulations to everyone who won – each category was extremely competitive and each winner should be rightly proud!”