How to enter

Happy 20th birthday to the Apprenticeship Guide!

The Apprenticeship Guide has been supporting apprenticeships along their journeys since 2005.

Now in its second year, the Apprenticeship Guide Awards is uniquely positioned to celebrate outstanding apprenticeship employers and providers!

Categories are designed to encourage nominations from small, mid-tier, and large firms, while also offering a wide range of individual and team awards. The very best employers will be scrutinised, recognised, and rewarded.

An independent panel of local and national experts from the profession judge the awards every year, ensuring a fair and robust process.

The awards culminate in a black-tie ceremony and dinner, held in Manchester, where the finalists meet, network and celebrate as a profession.

On this page, you’ll find everything you need to produce a submission that our independent panel of judges will find clear, concise and memorable.

How to enter

The deadline for submissions for the 2025 Awards is 20 December 2024.

How to win

It’s all about being memorable and compelling:

• Start early. Give yourself plenty of time to carefully evaluate the criteria for the categories you’re entering and provide a well-produced submission before the entry deadline.
• Check the criteria. Each category has its own criteria, and each submission should be unique.
• Provide evidence. Include as many results and evidence of success as you can, including testimonials. Judges are there to be swayed, so sway them.
• Keep it simple. Write or speak clearly and concisely so the judges can quickly understand the points you’re making.
• Consult with the relevant team. Collaborate on your submission as you do your work, and ensure that your whole team contributes.
• Be enthusiastic, transparent, and honest. Inspire the judges by sharing your organisation’s ethos and passion for your work without trying to pull the wool over their eyes. Honesty is the best policy.
• Redraft and revise. Once your submission is ready, start again and interrogate every fact and figure. Are they correct? Question every claim. Is that true? Weigh your language. Is that a helpful term or an empty buzzword?

Rules and requirements

• Entrants must be based in England or provide apprenticeships or training in England
• Entrants can enter as many categories as they wish
• Entrants are encouraged to limit submissions to two entries per category; further submissions may not be considered.
• Submissions must be unique and tailored to meet the criteria of each category.
• Self-nomination is required.
• Written and video submissions are accepted – both must follow the criteria format.
• Submissions can be made until 11.59pm on the entry deadline day
• Entrants are expected to send at least one representative to attend the in-person ceremony.
• Entries submitted by companies that have undergone administration, liquidation, or significant restructuring will be subject to review to ensure continuity of operations, leadership, and client commitments.
• The Apprenticeship Guide Awards reserves the right to disqualify entries where there are concerns about corporate governance, financial stability, or ethical business practices.
• The judging panel has the final authority to determine whether an entry meets the spirit and intent of the awards.
• The Apprenticeship Guide Awards reserves the right to remove any entries or finalists that do not meet the above criteria or that, in the judges’ discretion, could undermine the integrity of the awards.

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