Star apprentices and employers have been celebrated at the 2025 Shropshire Telford & Wrekin Apprenticeship Awards.
The event returned after a successful debut last year, crowning 10 category winners plus an overall apprentice of the year for both Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.
Agata Serafin, from Elite Precast Concrete, was named Telford & Wrekin apprentice of the year, having also won the Manufacturing & Engineering title.
Around 200 guests at the Mercure Telford Centre Hotel heard how she had always wanted to work within engineering and design, with colleagues saying her ‘enthusiasm to learn and progress’ was witnessed every day.
Honor Davies, from SJ Roberts Construction at Marton, lifted the Shropshire apprentice of the year award after winning the Construction & Civil Engineering title.
It was a good night all round for SJ Roberts, which was also named large apprentice employer of the year. The company is currently ranked 13th in the UK Government’s list of top 20 SME apprentice employers, and best in the Midlands.
The medium sized apprentice employer of the year award went – for a second successive year – to Pave Aways of Knockin. The former Shropshire Company of the Year has been nurturing apprentices for over 50 years and has supported more than 70 people into careers in construction.
The prize for small employer of the year went to Shrewsbury-based IT and cyber security specialists Start-Tech. Guests were told how two of the company’s seven apprentices have progressed into leadership roles.
The competition was organised and delivered by the independent media team behind Shropshire Business Live TV, which filmed the event for broadcast over the coming days.
It has been created to celebrate the brightest apprentices in the area, as well as recognising employers for their support of apprenticeship programmes.
This year’s event was backed by some of the county’s biggest and best names, led by headline sponsor Telford College, and the Marches Careers Hub.
Category sponsors included Keele University, WR Partners, In-Comm Training, J&PR, ANTA Education, Shrewsbury College, McPhillips, SBC Training, Pave Aways, and Purple Frog Systems.
Carl Jones, editor of Shropshire Business magazine who hosted the awards, said: “The quality and volume of entries once again surpassed expectations, and our panel of independent judges wanted to let finalists know how difficult their decisions had been.
“It’s been another incredibly successful event, and we’re looking forward to making it a regular fixture on the Shropshire business calendar. We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us and made this fantastic event possible once again.”
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