Application information

Greater Lincolnshire Apprentice Champion 2025

What makes a winner?

The Greater Lincolnshire Apprentice Champion 2025 Award seeks to acknowledge and celebrate apprentices’ exceptional achievements and contributions to their workplace.

Judges are looking for entrants that make a real difference to the organisation they work in by exceeding expectations and delivering measurable benefits. In particular, judges would like to see:

Commitment to personal development and progression through learning
Outstanding contributions to the business, such as areas or projects where the apprentice has exceeded expectations
Examples of achievements in learning and work
Inspirational qualities

Who should enter?

To make an application, the apprentice must live or work in Greater Lincolnshire, have been on programme for at least 6 months on 9th June 2025, or completed their Apprenticeship during 2024.

Completing the form

Applications for Greater Lincolnshire Apprentice Champion can be made by their employer, a trainer, support worker or colleague who feels the apprentice is worthy of recognition. The nominator will complete a declaration confirming the apprentice’s consent to be considered for the award.

Please read these guidance notes carefully – they will help you to complete the application form.

Guidance on completing your application

Please complete all sections of the application form. Incomplete entries will not be progressed to adjudication.

Forms should be completed and submitted using the online form.

Please observe and adhere to the character limit where these apply. The online form will not accept submissions beyond this limit.

The application form is split into four sections:

Section 1 – Contact Information
Section 2 – Background Information
Section 3 – Application
Section 4 – Declaration

Please ensure that you follow the guidance notes in the application form as these will help you to provide the information that the judges need. All entries will be treated in the strictest of confidence.

Section One – Contact Information

In this section, we will ask you for the contact information of the nominator, the apprentice and the apprentice’s employer details for the purposes of processing the entry and confirming eligibility for the awards. We will also ask for the details of and the apprentice’s training provider.

Section Two – Background Information

You are asked to provide the judges with information about the apprenticeship, the apprentice’s previous qualifications and experience, their achievements to date including progression as a result of the apprenticeship, and a little about their employer. This section will not be scored but will give the judges some background to help them assess the entry.

Section Three - Application

Please answer all questions as fully as possible and please ensure that you include evidence such as quotes from clients, colleagues, statistics, comparative data of key performance indicators or measures , etc. Remember the judges will be looking for evidence of achievement, commitment, and business benefits as a result of the apprentice’s contribution.

Question 1a – Please tell us about the apprentice’s starting point (25%)

In this section, we would like to hear about the apprentice’s prior qualifications, what skills and experience they had before starting the apprenticeship. You could also include information on any barriers to learning and work that the apprentice may have experienced, for example if they are a care leaver, have a disability or health condition or caring responsibilities. (Max 2,500 characters)

Question 1b – Describe how the apprentice has developed during their apprenticeship and their contribution to the business (25%)

In this question, the judges will be looking for evidence of the impact that the apprenticeship has had on the apprentice both professionally and personally. You could talk about specific achievements within the workplace as a result of the apprenticeship, or how their skills and knowledge have been developed such as their confidence, communication or teamwork. You could also talk about how the apprentice has addressed any challenges that they have faced and how they have overcome these. (Max 2,500 characters)

Question 2 – Please detail the ways in which this apprentice has contributed to the success of the organisation they work for or the direct impact that they have had on colleagues or operations (25%)

For this question you may like to explain specific key performance indicators or targets they have achieved or helped the team to achieve. You may also want to mention projects they have worked on and how they support colleagues to achieve organisational goals. (Max 2,500 characters)

Question 3 – Why do you think that this candidate should be considered for the Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Champion 2025? (25%)

For this answer you may like to outline the aspects of the apprentice’s performance that you consider to be exceptional and above expectations. This could include the opportunities that they have embraced to develop and progress, and any barriers that they have overcome. You may want to mention specific examples of where they have gone above and beyond expectations in their role, making a significant contribution to their organisation. (Max 2,500 characters)

Supplementary Private Video Evidence (Optional)

Nominators will have the opportunity to provide supplementary video evidence (maximum 5 minutes) to support their written answers. It is not mandatory to submit a video and nominators who do not submit one will not be penalised in the judging process. The content of any video submissions should reflect the questions asked above.

If you would like to submit a private video, we recommend that you upload your video to YouTube and paste the link into the application form. Please ensure that videos are set to private before sharing – this will ensure that only the individuals connected with the awards can view the video and will help to protect your anonymity. Video evidence submitted will only be used to support the judging process and will not be used in any publicity associated with the awards.

Please see below the following support pages for how to upload and share videos to YouTube:

If you have further questions with regards to submitting video evidence, please email Place_LearningTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Declaration

You will need to confirm that the information provided is true to the best of your knowledge.

You will be asked to confirm that you have gained the apprentice’s consent to be considered for Greater Lincolnshire Apprentice Champion 2025 confirming in the declaration that the apprentice is happy to participate in publicity activity related to the Awards. Your declaration will confirm that you are happy for the information provided to be used with publicity material for the awards.

All parties will receive confirmation of the application.

Help with your application

If you require any help with your application, please contact email Place_LearningTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Conditions of entry

The organisers cannot accept any responsibility for loss or damage of an entry. All entries will be treated in the strictest of confidence. The judges’ decisions will be final, and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into regarding the selection of winners.

All entries will be acknowledged by email to the nominee, apprentice and learning provider email provided in the application. If you do not hear from us, please email Place_LearningTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Training Champion 2025

What makes a winner?

The Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Training Champion Award 2025 seeks to acknowledge and celebrate individual commitment to designing, delivering and supporting high quality apprenticeships that meet both employer and apprentice needs.

The judges are looking for trainers, mentors, skills coaches or anyone working with an apprentice that demonstrates commitment to excellence in skills development through high quality partnership working with employers, ambitious curriculum design and delivery, and individualised support to ensure that apprentices succeed and progress.

Judges are looking for individuals that deliver excellence in Apprenticeships through:

Clear partnership working with employers that contributes to effective curriculum design, organisational goals and positive learner outcomes
Ambitious, high-quality training and support delivered to apprentices
High levels of support for all apprentices, especially those with additional needs or barriers to learning
Identifying and supporting opportunities for Apprentices to progress into long term employment, better prospects within the workplace or higher-level education

Who should be nominated?

Any individual involved in the delivery or support of Apprenticeships within Greater Lincolnshire, working with apprentices who have been on programme for at least the last 6 months on 9 June 2025 or have completed apprenticeship programmes that finished in 2024. This could include but is not limited to trainers, assessors, workplace mentors, skills and progress coaches.

Completing the form

The nomination for Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Training Champion 2025 can be made by an employer, employer representative, training provider, colleague or apprentice.

Please read these guidance notes carefully – they will help you to complete the application form.

Guidance on completing your application

Please complete all sections of the application form. Incomplete entries will not be progressed to the judging stage.

Forms should be completed and submitted using the online form

Please observe and adhere to the character limit where these apply. The online form will not accept submissions beyond this limit.

The application form is split into four sections:

Section 1 – Contact Information
Section 2 – Background Information
Section 3 – Application
Section 4 – Declaration

Please ensure that you follow the guidance notes as this will enable you to provide the information that the judges need. All entries will be treated in the strictest of confidence.

Section One – Contact Information

In this section, we will ask for the details of the person completing the form. We will also ask for the training champion details and their employer details. We will use this information for publicity purposes and to confirm eligibility of your organisation to be included in consideration for the awards.

Section Two – Background Information

This is where you need to provide the judges with information about the training champion’s job role and how this fits into the organisation they work for. This will help the judges contextualise the nomination.

Section Three - Application

Please answer all questions as fully as possible and ensure that you include evidence such as quotes from employers, apprentices, statistics, comparative data, etc. Remember the judges will be looking for evidence of the impact the training champion makes on Greater Lincolnshire employers and apprentices.

Please observe and adhere to the character limit as outlined in each question. The online form will not accept any content beyond this limit.

Question 1 - What has the training champion done to help make the apprenticeship experience exceptional? (50%)

In this question, the judges will be looking to see evidence of how the individual has worked with apprentices and employers to contribute to the design and delivery of high quality and ambitious apprenticeship programmes, that support business needs and growth within the Greater Lincolnshire socio-economic context. Examples could include the approach that they take in delivering off-the-job apprenticeship training that meets employers’ needs and ensures that apprentices are well equipped for their next steps. You could explain how wider skills and behaviours are embedded within the apprenticeship programme to add value to the apprentice journey. You could explain what challenges were or are faced by the apprentice and employer throughout the apprenticeship and what steps the nominee has taken to overcome these. The judges are interested to learn what the impact of the nominee’s support has been on the apprentice and business. This could relate to one or more apprentices. (Max 2,500 characters)

Question 2 – Why do you think this person should be considered for the Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Training Champion Award 2025 (50%)

Please provide examples of how the apprentice/apprentices have benefited from the nominee’s input on their apprenticeship, which could be from a professional or personal perspective or both. The judges will be looking for evidence of what this person has done above and beyond their role in supporting apprentices and their employers to ensure the best possible outcome for all. This may include specific skills development, additional training or enrichment provided, support in overcoming barriers to employment and progression, or supporting apprentices to aim high and realise their potential. Where possible, please include evidence of the impact of these interventions. (Max 2,500 characters)

Section Four – Declaration

You will need to confirm that the information provided is true to the best of your knowledge.

You will be asked to confirm that you have gained the training champion’s consent to be considered for Greater Lincolnshire Training Champion 2025 confirming in the declaration that the training champion is happy to participate in publicity activity related to the Awards. Your declaration will confirm that you are happy for the information provided to be used with publicity material for the awards.

All parties will receive confirmation of the application.

Supplementary Private Video Evidence (Optional)

Nominators have the opportunity to provide supplementary video evidence to support their written answers . It is not mandatory to submit a video and nominators who do not submit one will not be penalised in the judging process. The content of any video submissions should reflect the questions above.

If you would like to submit a private video (maximum 5 minutes), we recommend that you upload your video to YouTube and paste the link into the application form. Please ensure that videos are set to private before sharing – this will ensure that only the individuals connected with the awards can view the video and will help to protect your anonymity. Video evidence submitted will only be used to support the judging process and will not be used in any publicity associated with the awards.

Please see below the following support pages for how to upload and share videos to YouTube.

If you have further questions with regards to submitting video evidence, please email Place_LearningTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Help with your application

If you require any help with your application, please email Place_LearningTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Conditions of entry

All entries will be acknowledged by email to the applicant and learning provider email provided in the application. If you do not hear from us, please email Place_LearningTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion 2025 - Micro and Small Business

What makes a winner?

The Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion 2025 – Micro and Small Businesses - Award seeks to acknowledge and celebrate employers’ commitment to the development of their staff through apprenticeships This year we want to recognise employers large and small, so have introduced an Employer Champion award for micro (less than 10 employees) and small (less than 50 employees) employers.

We recognise that there are additional challenges for these types of businesses and we want to acknowledge their work with apprentices. The winning employer in this category will demonstrate commitment to excellence in skills development through high quality training support to their apprentices in a way that enables long term business growth and sustainability and progression pathways for their apprentice/s.

Judges are looking for micro and small business employers that deliver excellence in Apprenticeships through:

Clear partnership working with their training provider/s
Providing meaningful development opportunities to support apprenticeship achievement
Enabling apprentices to develop beyond their current role
Identifying and supporting opportunities for apprentices to progress into long term or higher level employment within the business

Who should enter?

Any micro or small business who has employed an apprentice at a Greater Lincolnshire base who has been on programme for at least 6 months on 9 June 2025, or who completed their Apprenticeship programme during 2024. The application must relate to the provision of apprenticeships within Greater Lincolnshire.

Completing the form

Applications for Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion (Micro and Small Business) 2025 should be made by the organisation wishing to be considered for an award.

You will be asked to supply a third-party endorsement to support your application, for example your training provider. Without a third-party endorsement, your application cannot be progressed to adjudication.

Please read these guidance notes carefully – they will help you to complete the application form.

Guidance on completing your application

Please complete all sections of the application form. Incomplete entries will not be progressed to the judging stage.

Forms should be completed and submitted using the online form.

Please observe and adhere to the character limit where these apply. The online form will not accept submissions beyond this limit.

The application form is split into four sections:

Section 1 – Contact Information
Section 2 – Background Information
Section 3 – Application
Section 4 – Third Party Endorsement

Please ensure that you follow the guidance notes as this will enable you to provide the information that the judges need. All entries will be treated in the strictest of confidence.

Section One – Contact Information

In this section, we will ask the primary contact for the entry and for publicity purposes, if this is different to the person completing the form. We will also use this information to confirm eligibility of your business to be included in consideration for the awards.

Section Two – Background Information

Section Three - Application

Please answer all questions as fully as possible. Include evidence such as quotes from clients, staff/apprentices, statistics, comparative data, etc. Remember the judges will be looking for evidence of achievement, commitment, business benefits from skills investment and best practice/transferability.

Question 1 – Please explain your approach to apprenticeships within your organisation in Greater Lincolnshire (25%)

In this question, the judges will be looking to understand your organisation’s rationale for employing apprentices. This could include information on how apprenticeships fit within your approach to business growth, staff recruitment and specialist training. You could also outline how you work with partner training providers to develop specialist and perhaps niche training that meets the needs of your micro or small business (Max 2,500 characters)

Question 2 - Please describe the benefits that apprenticeships have brought to your organisation and your apprentices in Greater Lincolnshire (25%)

The judges will be looking for evidence of how your business and/or apprentices have benefited from apprenticeships, taking into account the size of your business and local context. This may include specific examples of how you support apprentices with career progression, promotion and overcoming barriers to learning and work. For benefits to the organisation, you could consider examples of the benefits gained as a result e.g., business growth and improved retention of specialist and skilled staff. (Max 2,500 characters)

Question 3 – Please explain how apprenticeships help your business stay competitive in an evolving and competitive marketplace

In this section, the judges are looking to understand how apprenticeships have helped your business stay relevant by building a trained workforce relevant to your business and industry sector. The judges are particularly interested in understanding how you invest in the development of apprentices so they stay relevant and adapt to industry changes. It could also include information on how you have supported apprentices in overcoming challenges unique to Greater Lincolnshire. (Max 2,500 characters)

At this stage, you will be asked to submit your form. A notification will be sent to your nominated third-party endorser, attaching a copy of Section Two Background Information and your answers to Section Three Application. This information is shared to enable the endorser to fully complete their part of the application.

If the third-party endorsement is not received, then your application cannot be progressed to adjudication.

Section Four – Third Party Endorsement

This question asks for a third-party endorsement to support your application for consideration as Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion 2025. The third-party endorsement should either come from a representative of a training provider or supply chain business, who is working with you to deliver existing apprenticeships, or an apprentice employed within your organisation who has been on programme for at least 6 months on 9 June 2025 or completed their apprenticeship during 2024. Your endorser should be based in Greater Lincolnshire, or a training provider delivering to Greater Lincolnshire-based apprentices.

Endorsers will be asked to confirm their organisation, role and contact details so that the endorsement can be verified.

Question 4 – Why do you think that this employer should be considered for Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion 2025 – Micro and Small Businesses (25%)?

In your answer, you should outline the aspects of the employer’s approach to Greater Lincolnshire apprenticeships that you consider to be exceptional. Special consideration should be given to the size of the business and potential limited internal systems - given the size of the business - to support apprentices and how they have overcome these challenges. This could include the opportunities that the employer makes available for apprentice development and progression, systems adopted to support apprentices overcome barriers and specific examples of where the employer has gone above and beyond to support apprentices. You could also discuss the impact that apprenticeships have had on business growth and productivity, the contribution to addressing skills gaps or staff retention. (Max 2,500 characters)

Supplementary Private Video Evidence (Optional)

Applicants and endorsers have the opportunity to provide supplementary video evidence to support their written answers. It is not mandatory to submit a video and candidates who do not submit one will not be penalised in the judging process. The content of any video submissions should reflect questions 1-3 for applicants and question 4 for endorsers.

Please see below the following support pages for how to upload and share videos to YouTube:

For supplementary videos, we are setting a time limit of:

5 minutes for applicants
2 minutes for endorsers

If you have further questions with regards to submitting video evidence, please email Place_LearningTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Declaration

For both applicants and endorsers, you will need to confirm that the information provided is true to the best of your knowledge.

An authorised member of staff will give consent for your organisation to be considered for Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion Award 2025 confirming in the declaration that they agree to the nomination and are happy to participate in publicity activity related to the Awards.

The endorser will be asked to confirm that they support the employer’s application to be considered for Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion 2025, and that they are happy for the information provided to be used with publicity material for the awards.

All parties will receive confirmation of the application.

Help with your application

If you require any help with your application, please email Place_LearningTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Conditions of entry

Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion 2025 – Large Business

What makes a winner?

The Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion (Large Business) 2025 Award seeks to acknowledge and celebrate employers’ commitment to the development of their staff through apprenticeships.

The winning employer in the large business (more than 50 employees) category will demonstrate commitment to excellence in skills development through high quality training support to their apprentices in a way that enables long term business growth and sustainability.

Judges are looking for employers that deliver excellence in Apprenticeships through:

Clear partnership working with their training provider/s
Providing meaningful development opportunities to support apprenticeship achievement
Enabling apprentices to develop beyond their current role
Identifying and supporting opportunities for apprentices to progress into long term or higher level employment within the business

Who should enter?

Any business who has employed an apprentice at a Greater Lincolnshire base who has been on programme for at least 6 months on 9 June 2025, or who completed their Apprenticeship programme during 2024. We welcome applications from national employers, but the application must relate to the provision of apprenticeships within Greater Lincolnshire.

Completing the form

Applications for Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion (Large Business) 2025 should be made by the organisation wishing to be considered for an award.

Please read these guidance notes carefully – they will help you to complete the application form.

Guidance on completing your application

Please complete all sections of the application form. Incomplete entries will not be progressed to the judging stage.

Forms should be completed and submitted using the online form.

Please observe and adhere to the character limit where these apply. The online form will not accept submissions beyond this limit.

The application form is split into four sections:

Section 1 – Contact Information
Section 2 – Background Information
Section 3 – Application
Section 4 – Third Party Endorsement

Please ensure that you follow the guidance notes as this will enable you to provide the information that the judges need. All entries will be treated in the strictest of confidence.

Section One – Contact Information

In this section, we will ask for the primary contact for the entry and for publicity purposes, if this is different to the person completing the form. We will also use this information to confirm eligibility of your business to be included in consideration for the awards. We will also ask you to name the training providers you work with to support your Greater Lincolnshire apprentices.

Section Two – Background Information

You are asked to provide the judges with information about your organisation, its size, the sector you operate in, the number of apprentices that you employ and the Apprenticeship Standards that the organisation supports. If you are a national employer, we ask you to confirm how many apprentices you employ are based in Greater Lincolnshire including the standards undertaken in the area. This section will not be scored but will give the judges some background to help them assess your entry.

Section Three - Application

Question 1 – Please explain your approach to apprenticeships within your organisation in Greater Lincolnshire (25%)

In this question, the judges will be looking to understand your organisation’s rationale for employing apprentices within your Greater Lincolnshire operations. This could include information on how apprenticeships fit within your approach to business development, staff recruitment and development. Your answer could make reference to how apprenticeships contribute to staff retention, succession planning and addressing skills gaps. You could also outline how you work with partner training providers to develop training that meets the needs of your business (Max 2,500 characters)

Question 2 - Please describe the benefits that apprenticeships have brought to your organisation and your apprentices in Greater Lincolnshire (25%)

The judges will be looking for evidence of how your business and/or apprentices have benefited from apprenticeships. This may include specific examples of how you support apprentices with career progression, promotion, overcoming obstacles, confidence, autonomy or specialist projects. For benefits to the organisation, you could consider examples of the benefits gained as a result e.g., increased business productivity, reduced staff turnover, improved retention, reduced recruitment costs, etc. (Max 2,500 characters)

Question 3 - Please explain why you think your Greater Lincolnshire based apprenticeship programme is exceptional and supports widening participation (25%)

In this section, the judges are looking to understand the strengths and wider benefits offered by your apprenticeship programme. This could include the wider benefits such as long-term progression or development opportunities. The judges are particularly interested in processes the employer has in place to support disadvantaged apprentices overcome barriers such as those who are care leavers, have a disability or health condition, learning difficulty, caring responsibilities etc. It could also include information on how you have supported apprentices in overcoming challenges unique to GreaterLincolnshire. (Max 2,500 characters)

If the third-party endorsement is not received, then your application cannot be progressed to adjudication.

Section Four – Third Party Endorsement

This question asks for a third-party endorsement to support your application for consideration as Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion 2025. The third-party endorsement should either come from a representative of a training provider who is working with you to deliver existing apprenticeships, or an apprentice employed within your organisation who has been on programme for at least 6 months on 8 March 2024 or completed their apprenticeship during 2024. Your endorser should be based in Greater Lincolnshire, or a training provider delivering to Greater Lincolnshire-based apprentices.

Endorsers will be asked to confirm their organisation, role and contact details so that the endorsement can be verified.

Question 4 – Why do you think that this employer should be considered for Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion 2025 (25%)?

In your answer, the endorser should outline the aspects of the employer’s approach to Greater Lincolnshire apprenticeships that you consider to be exceptional. This could include the opportunities that the employer makes available for apprentice development and progression, systems adopted to support apprentices overcome barriers and specific examples of where the employer has gone above and beyond to support their apprentices. You could also discuss the impact that apprenticeships have had on business growth and productivity, the contribution to addressing skills gaps or staff retention. (Max 2,500 characters)

Supplementary Private Video Evidence (Optional)

Please see below the following support pages for how to upload and share videos to YouTube:

For supplementary videos, we are setting a time limit of:

5 minutes for applicants
2 minutes for endorsers

If you have further questions with regards to submitting video evidence, please email Place_LearningTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk.

Declaration

For both applicants and endorsers, you will need to confirm that the information provided is true to the best of your knowledge.

An authorised member of staff will give consent for your organisation to be considered for Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion Award (Large Business) 2025 confirming in the declaration that they agree to the nomination and are happy to participate in publicity activity related to the Awards.

The endorser will be asked to confirm that they support the employer’s application to be considered for Greater Lincolnshire Apprenticeship Employer Champion (Large Business) 2025, and that they are happy for the information provided to be used with publicity material for the awards.

All parties will receive confirmation of the application.

Help with your application

If you require any help with your application, please email Place_LearningTeam@lincolnshire.gov.uk.