HSBC scoops National Apprenticeship Award

15 Nov 2013

The Awards, now in their tenth year, are run by the National Apprenticeship Service and recognise excellence in two areas: businesses that grow their own talent with apprentices and apprentices who have made a significant contribution to their workplaces.

The bank was chosen as the winner in recognition of its commitment to developing young people through Apprenticeships. HSBC enrolled its first apprentices in September 2011 in order to improve the skills of its workforce and by March 2013 was employing 1065 apprentices, half of whom were aged 24 and under. The bank currently employs over 1400 apprentices and plans to recruit a further 700 each year across roles ranging from IT to financial services.

On accepting the award, John Morewood, Head of Emerging Talent Europe at HSBC, said: “We introduced Apprenticeships in response to a need to attract, retain and inspire talented professionals who have a passion to build and sustain relationships with our customers and our organisation, driving HSBC to be the best provider of customer service. Since our first apprentices joined we have seen an improvement in customer service across the board and customer satisfaction scores have increased. There has also been a general change in the attitude of our employees, boosting team productivity, morale and motivation across the UK.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was guest of honour at the Awards and said: “To lock in our economic recovery we need a new generation of talent entering the world of work and I am committed to making sure young people today get the opportunities they need to realise their full potential.

“Since 2010, we have created a million and a half new apprenticeships but none of that would have been possible without events like this and the support of businesses who go that extra mile to help our apprentices progress.

“I was delighted to be able to meet so many of our young apprentices and businesses from across England at the Apprenticeship Awards tonight – it is the drive and ambition that we celebrated here that will, in the years ahead, help our country and its people thrive.”

Skills and Enterprise Minister, Matthew Hancock said: “Apprenticeships deliver for employers, young people, adults and the economy. I congratulate the winners and finalists at the National Apprenticeship Awards.

“They represent the very best of employers and apprentices in this country and set a hugely positive example for other individuals and organisations to follow.

“I want a system that works for businesses as well as learners. These awards demonstrate this and I am pleased to see so many learners, businesses and partners showing their commitment to Apprenticeships.”

Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: “We would like to congratulate HSBC on winning the Apprenticeship Employee Newcomer of the year award. At Investors in People we believe that good people make great businesses. Research shows that Investors in People accredited employers are more optimistic about the future, and help the next generation, being twice as likely to offer apprenticeships than the average UK business. Apprenticeships provide businesses with a talent pipeline for the future and a good job and training for the individual. It’s a true win win. We therefore congratulate HSBC on their achievement and are proud to support the first year of this brand new award.”

To view the full list of award winners and finalists or for more information about Apprenticeships, please visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk.