Finalists revealed: top UK employers for school leavers
- Emma Finamore
- Last updated 16 May 2017
The annual breakdown of the companies offering the best opportunities to school and college leavers has been announced, ahead of a glittering awards ceremony later this month.
AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk has revealed the finalists in its fifth annual ranking of the UK’s top employers for school leavers, ahead of The School Leaver Awards ceremony at The Waldorf Hilton Hotel, hosted by comedian Ed Byrne.
The shortlist, based on the real-life experiences of apprentices and school leaver trainees from 100 UK organisations, features high profile names from the professional services industry, the world of construction and engineering, retail giants, broadcasting and media companies, and even city councils.
The one thing they have in common? They’ve all been nominated for their exemplary work in developing school leaver opportunities: Intermediate Apprenticeships, Advanced Apprenticeships, Higher Apprenticeships, the new Degree Apprenticeships, school leaver programmes and sponsored degrees.
Young people working in the school leaver training world were asked to complete employee satisfaction surveys, covering every aspect of their working lives, from job satisfaction and career progression, to company culture and work/life balance.
Four of the 36 categories were shortlisted by an industry panel, for example the School Leaver of the Year award, and the Most Innovative Recruitment Campaign award – recognising organisations’ forward thinking recruitment methods using modern techniques such as WhatsApp campaigns and online media.
“With the new Apprenticeship Levy introduced this April, there are more programmes than ever for young people to choose from. Our awards, solely based on the opinions of the people currently participating in these training programmes, help other young people see which areas employers are excelling in, and who offers them the best opportunities."
Two of the categories – Best Website and Best Social Media – were shortlisted by a student panel made up of a cross-section of the AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk student database.
Industry-specific categories will acknowledge the top employers in their particular fields, for example Top Employer – Public Sector, Top Employer – Engineering and Top Employer – Accounting & Professional Services.
Jack Denton, director and co-founder of AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk, said: “With the new Apprenticeship Levy introduced this April, there are more programmes than ever for young people to choose from. Our awards, solely based on the opinions of the people currently participating in these training programmes, help other young people see which areas employers are excelling in, and who offers them the best opportunities.
“As our awards have grown over the last few years, we’ve realised how important it is to make them easy to understand – by adding new industry specific categories we’re helping young people identify the best employers in the sectors they are most interested in.”
The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London’s Waldorf Hilton Hotel, on Thursday 25 May 2017, sponsored by EY and supported by Laing O’ Rourke.
The finalists in full:
Top Employer - Overall
Finalists and winner to be announced at awards ceremony
Best Website (shortlisted by student panel)
BDO
BT
CGI
EY
Laing O'Rourke
Mazars
Mercedes-Benz
Nomura
PwC
TUI
Best Social Media (shortlisted by student panel)
BDO
EY
IBM
Jaguar Land Rover
JLL
Laing O'Rourke
National Grid
PwC
Severn Trent Water
Volvo
Best Training
Bentley
Eversheds
Goldman Sachs
Haymarket Media Group
Mace
Savers
Schroders
Softcat
Superdrug
The Juice Academy
Best for Skills Development
A4G
Arup
Barclays
BP
Goldman Sachs
Menzies
Nomura
Schroders
Softcat
Virgin Media
Best for Career Progression
Arup
Bentley
Eversheds
Goldman Sachs
Haymarket Media Group
Hill Dickinson
Kennedys
Nomura
Softcat
WSP
Best Level of Support
Eversheds
Goldman Sachs
Hill Dickinson
Kennedys
KFC
Mace
Savers
Severn Trent Water
The Skills Company
WSP
Best Job Satisfaction
Basildon Borough Council
Bentley
Capgemini
Goldman Sachs
Kennedys
Morrisons
Savers
Severn Trent Water
The Skills Company
Virgin Media
Best Company Culture
Arup
Bentley
Capgemini
Eversheds
Goldman Sachs
Haymarket Media Group
Mace
Mediacom
NATS
Schroders
Best Intermediate Apprenticeship
Basildon Borough Council
JLL
John Deere
Mercedes-Benz
NATS
Plymouth City Council
Robins and Day
Savers
Shoosmiths
Superdrug
Best Advanced Apprenticeship
Arup
Bentley
Haymarket Media Group
KFC
PKF Cooper Parry
Plymouth City Council
Softcat
The Juice Academy
Toyota
Virgin Media
Best Higher Apprenticeship
Bentley
EY
Kennedys
Lloyds Banking Group
National Grid
Nomura
Severn Trent Water
Smith & Williamson
Transport for London
TUI
Best Degree Apprenticeship
Barclays
Capgemini
Currie & Brown
Eversheds
Goldman Sachs
Lloyds Banking Group
Mace
Nestle
PKF Cooper Parry
Best School Leaver Programme
Schroders
A4G
BP
Hazlewoods
Laing O'Rourke
Mace
Menzies
MHA MacIntyre Hudson
PwC
Shoosmiths
Best Sponsored Degree
Aecom
Balfour Beatty
CGI
Morgan Sindall
Morrisons
PwC
Top Employer – Small School Leaver intake
A4G
BP
Eversheds
Goldman Sachs
Haymarket Media Group
Kennedys
KFC
Nomura
Smith & Williamson
TUI
Top Employer – Medium School Leaver intake
Arup
Bentley
Capgemini
Mace
Plymouth City Council
Schroders
Severn Trent Water
Softcat
The Juice Academy
WSP
Top Employer – Large School Leaver intake
Barclays
EY
Lloyds Banking Group
Mercedes-Benz
National Grid
PwC
Savers
Superdrug
Transport for London
Virgin Media
Industry specific awards:
Top Employer - Accounting & Professional Services
A4G
BDO
EY
Hazlewoods
Lovewell Blake
Menzies
MHA MacIntyre Hudson
PKF Cooper Parry
PwC
Smith & Williamson
Top Employer – Automotive
Bentley
Jaguar Land Rover
Mercedes-Benz
Renault Trucks
Toyota
Volvo Trucks
Top Employer - Banking & Financial Services
Autonet Insurance
Barclays
Fidelity
Goldman Sachs
Lloyds Banking Group
Markerstudy Group
Nomura
Schroders
Top Employer – Construction
Arup
Balfour Beatty
BAM Nuttall
Currie & Brown
JLL
Laing O'Rourke
Mace
Morgan Sindall
Top Employer - Energy & Utilities
Aecom
BP
National Grid
Severn Trent Water
Top Employer – Engineering
Alstom
Arcadis
British Sugar
Kone
Leonardo Helicopters
Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains
NATS
NG Bailey
Tata Steel
WSP
Top Employer - Hospitality & Tourism
Greene King
Heineken
KFC
Thomas Cook
TUI
Top Employer - IT & Technology
Arvato UK & Ireland
BT
Capgemini
CGI
Fujitsu
IBM
Softcat
Virgin Media
Top Employer - Law
Eversheds
Gordons
Hill Dickinson
Irwin Mitchell
Kennedys
Shoosmiths
Top Employer - Public Sector
Plymouth City Council
Basildon Borough Council
Cambridge University Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust
City of Lincoln Council
Civil Service
DSTL
London Borough of Hillingdon
National Audit Office
Nottingham City Council
Transport for London
Top Employer – Retail
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Harrods
Marks & Spencer
Morrisons
Robins and Day
Savers
Superdrug
Top Employer – Science & FMCG
3M
GSK
Nestle
STFC Rutherford
Appleton Laboratory
Teledyne e2v
The National Physical
Laboratory
Shortlisted by Expert Panel:
School Leaver of the Year
Alex Blatch, Nomura
Alistair Wheeler, BT
Ben Maynard, IBM
Bradley Whiting, GSK
Chris Achiampong, IBM
Hamzah Ahmed, National Grid
Hannah Black, Severn Trent Water
Harry Edwards, EY
Sam Coulson, GSK
Best Recruitment Campaign
CGI
EY
Marks & Spencer
Mazars
Severn Trent Water
The Skills Company
Best School Engagement in a Recruitment Campaign
CGI
Severn Trent Water
The Skills Company
Most Innovative Recruitment Campaign
CGI
EY
Marks & Spencer
Mazars
Severn Trent
Judging Panel:
John Rogers
Chief Executive
Skills for Health & Skills for Justice
Nigel Hollett
Chief Executive
Summit Skills
Stephen Isherwood
Chief Executive
AGR
Lydia Edwards
Assistant Brand Manager
National Skills Academy for Food & Drink
Steve Nash
CEO
The Institute of the Motor Industry
Jonathan Ledger
CEO
Proskills
Pauline Tambling CBE
CEO
Creative and Cultural Skills
Sharon Stephens
Head of Member and Business Development
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB)
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