- Mercedes-Benz wins Top Employer for School & College Leavers award
- EY school leaver trainee wins School Leaver of the Year award
- New Degree Apprenticeship programmes recognised for the first time
- New London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, lends his support to the event
The UK’s top employers for school leavers were revealed last night, when the results of a nationwide survey were announced at an awards ceremony in London’s City Hall – and gained words of support from London's new mayor, Sadiq Khan.
AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk’s Top 100 Employers for School & College Leavers 2016 – 17 Awards, sponsored by EY and supported by Laing O’Rourke, announced the winners in 29 categories – including skills development, career progression, training and company culture – as decided by surveys completed by apprentices and school leaver trainees from 100 UK organisations.
In the fourth annual ceremony, Mercedes-Benz was named Top Employer for School & College Leavers, and Amber Westmoreland of EY won the School or College Leaver of the Year award.
“It’s really exciting to win an award – I definitely made the right career choice. I chose the school leaver route because I didn’t want to go to university when I left college,” said Amber. “When I found out there was a route to get a professional job – one that I would have thought you’d need a degree for – without having to go to university, I jumped at it.
“It’s quite hard work to juggle your professional qualification exams alongside working but I have loved my first two years at EY and am excited to keep learning and stretching myself!”
The School or College Leaver of the Year award was one of four awards judged by a panel of industry experts, who described Amber as stepping “outside of her remit”, demonstrating “qualities of leadership” and “incredible initiative”. They said she was proof that it is possible to succeed and excel without going to university.
The industry panel included senior figures from the Association of Graduate Recruiters, the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), Skills for Health and Justice, the National Skills Academy for Creative & Cultural Skills and the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).
This year AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk added a new Degree Apprenticeships category – the programmes were launched nationally in 2015 – as well as new industry-specific categories acknowledging the top employers in their particular fields.
New Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, offered his support to the event, saying how important skills training is for school leavers: “I will be a Mayor who leads a new agenda for London, making sure young people and businesses get the skills they need to succeed.
“To achieve that, I am looking forward to working with the employers celebrated tonight to bring as many young people as possible into the London workforce, so our great city can continue to grow.”
Jack Denton, director and co-founder of AllAboutSchoolLeavers.co.uk, said: “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.
“By adding new industry specific categories we’re helping young people identify the best employers in the sectors they are most interested in.”
Award winners in full
Top 100 Employers for School & College Leavers
- 1. Mercedes-Benz
- 2. Schroders
- 3. Savers
- 4. TUI UK & Ireland
- 5. EE
- 6. Be Wiser Insurance
- 7. Nomura
- 8. JLL
- 9. Peugeot Citroen Retail Group
- 10. Hays Travel
- 11. J.P. Morgan
- 12. Haymarket Media Group
- 13. Visa Europe
- 14. Sky
- 15. Smith & Williamson
- 15.= NG Bailey
- 15.= British Sugar
- 15.= AXA
- 19. Hanson
- 20. Coventry City Council
- 21.= The National Physical Laboratory
- 21.= Mazars
- 23. EY
- 24. BMW
- 25. Royal Mail Group
- 26.= Capgemini
- 26.= 3M
- 28. Barclays
- 29. Autonet Insurance
- 30. Henderson Global Investors
- 31. Marshall Aerospace
- 32.= DSTL
- 32.= Barratt Developments
- 34. Hazlewoods
- 35. Busy Bees Training Academy
- 36. BP
- 37. InterContinental Hotels Group
- 38. Kennedys
- 39.= National Grid
- 39.= Greene King
- 41 DHL
- 42 Morgan Sindall
- 43 Escalla
- 44 GSK
- 45.= Superdrug
- 45.= Connells Group
- 47. Accenture
- 48. Bentley Motors
- 49.= PwC
- 49.= Anchor
- 51.= Transport for London
- 51.= Boots
- 53.= Jaguar Land Rover
- 53.= ITV
- 54.= Commerzbank
- 56. RBS
- 57. EDF Energy
- 58. Arup
- 59.= Crowe Clark Whitehill
- 59.= Asquith Day Nurseries & Pre-Schools
- 61. MHA MacIntyre Hudson
- 62. Ginger Nut Media
- 63. Virgin Media
- 64. IFDS
- 65. Thales
- 66. RSM
- 67.= IBM
- 67.= Anglian Water
- 67.= Alstom
- 70. Nottingham City Council
- 71. Grant Thornton
- 71 .= BT
- 73. Lloyds Banking Group
- 74. Arqiva
- 75. KFC
- 76 . Fujitsu
- 77. National Audit Office
- 78. =Gist / Deloitte
- 80. Aecom
- 81. Empiric
- 82. BDO
- 83. Volvo
- 84. Harrods
- 85. Laing O'Rourke
- 86. CGI
- 87.= Hill Dickinson
- 87.= Balfour Beatty
- 89. Severn Trent Water
- 90. A4G
- 91. Tangerine
- 92. BBC
- 93. Civil Service
- 94. 5E
- 95. BAM Nuttall
- 96. Shoosmiths
- 97. Marks & Spencer
- 97.= Cambridge University Hospitals
- 97.= NHS Foundation Trust
- 99. Creative Pioneers
- 100. Gordons LLP
Top Intermediate Apprenticeship Employers
- 1. Peugeot Citroen Retail Group
- 2. Savers
- 3. Barratt Developments
- 4. Hays Travel
- 5. Sky
- 6. Coventry City Council
- 7. Autonet Insurance
- 8. DSTL
- 9. Busy Bees Training Academy
- 10. Greene King
- 11. DHL
- 12. Morgan Sindall
- 13. Anglian Water
- 14. Connells Group
- 15. Superdrug
- 16. Anchor
- 17. KFC
- 18. Asquith Day Nurseries & Pre-Schools
- 19. IFDS
- 20. Gist
- 21. Lloyds Banking Group
- 22. Fujitsu
- 23. BMW
- 24. Transport for London
- 25. Volvo
- 26. Nottingham City Council
- 27. Balfour Beatty
- 28. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- 29. Shoosmiths
Top Advanced Apprenticeship Employers
- 1. Mercedes-Benz
- 2. BMW
- 3. Barclays
- 4. EE
- 5. Be Wiser Insurance
- 6. Nomura
- 7. J.P. Morgan
- 8. JLL
- 9. Greene King
- 10. Haymarket Media Group
- 11. AXA
- 12. British Sugar
- 13. NG Bailey
- 14. The National Physical Laboratory
- 15. Jaguar Land Rover
- 16. Coventry City Council
- 17. KFC
- 18. Nottingham City Council
- 19. Royal Mail Group
- 20. 3M
- 21. Marshall Aerospace
- 22. Kennedys
- 23. Transport for London
- 24. Escalla
- 25. ITV
- 26. National Grid
- 27. Thales
- 28. RBS
- 29. Bentley Motors
- 30. EDF Energy
- 31. Arup
- 32. Ginger Nut Media
- 33. Virgin Media
- 34. IFDS
- 35. GSK
- 36. Alstom
- 37. DSTL
- 38. Aecom
- 39. BT
- 40. Fujitsu
- 41. Anglian Water
- 42. Lloyds Banking Group
- 43. Gist
- 44. Volvo
- 45. Hill Dickinson
- 46. Severn Trent Water
- 47. Creative Pioneers
- 48. Tangerine
- 49. 5E
- 50. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Top Higher Apprenticeship Employers
- 1. Barclays
- 2. National Grid
- 3. Visa Europe
- 4. J.P. Morgan
- 5. Smith & Williamson
- 6. Hanson
- 7. 3M
- 8. GSK
- 9. Sky
- 10. Bentley Motors
- 11. PwC
- 12. BT
- 13. Boots
- 14. Accenture
- 15. MHA MacIntyre Hudson
- 16. Transport for London
- 17. Greene King
- 18. IBM
- 19. CGI
- 20. Arqiva
- 21. Lloyds Banking Group
- 22. Thales
- 23. Fujitsu
- 24. Aecom
- 25. BBC
- 26. Civil Service
- 27. BAM Nuttall
- 28. Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
- 29. Creative Pioneers
- 30. Gordons LLP
Top Degree Apprenticeship Employers
- 1. Lloyds Banking Group
- 2. Capgemini
- 3. BT
- 4. Jaguar Land Rover
- 5. Barclays
- 6. IBM
- 7. RBS
Top School Leaver Programme Employers
- 1. Schroders
- 2. TUI UK & Ireland
- 3. Accenture
- 4. National Grid
- 5. EY
- 6. Mazars
- 7. Peugeot Citroen Retail Group
- 8. IBM
- 9. Henderson Global Investors
- 10. Hazlewoods
- 11. BP
- 12. InterContinental Hotels Group
- 13. Commerzbank
- 14. Boots
- 15. Morgan Sindall
- 16. RSM
- 17. Grant Thornton
- 18. National Audit Office
- 19. Deloitte
- 20. Empiric
- 21. BDO
- 22. Harrods
- 23. A4G
- 24. Marks & Spencer
Top Sponsored Degree Employers
- 1. Morgan Sindall
- 2. Barratt Developments
- 3. EY
- 4. PwC
- 5. Laing O'Rourke
- 6. Aecom
- 7. CGI
- 8. KFC
Top Employer for School & College Leavers
Winner: Mercedes-Benz
Best Intermediate Apprenticeship
Winner: Peugeot Citroen Retail Group
Best Advanced Apprenticeship
Winner: Mercedes-Benz
Best Higher Apprenticeship
Winner: Barclays
Best Degree Apprenticeship
Winner: Lloyds Banking Group
Best School Leaver Programme
Winner: Schroders
Best Sponsored Degree
Winner: Morgan Sindall
Best Training
Winner: Mercedes-Benz
Best for Skills Development
Winner: TUI UK & Ireland
Best for Career Progression
Winner: Mercedes-Benz
Best Level of Support
Winner: Savers
Best for Job Satisfaction
Winner: Savers
Best Company Culture
Winner: EE
Awards decided by an independent judging panel
School or College Leaver of the Year
Winner: Amber Westmoreland, EY
Best School & College Leaver Recruitment Campaign
Winner: Jaguar Land Rover
Best Use of School & College Engagement in a Recruitment Campaign
Winner: Jaguar Land Rover
Most Innovative School & College Leaver Recruitment Campaign
Winner: Marks & Spencer
Awards decided by an independent student panel
Best School & College Leaver Recruitment Website
Winner: Laing O'Rourke
Best Use of Social Media in a School & College Leaver Recruitment Campaign
Winner: Sky
Top Employers by industry
Top Employer - Accounting & Professional Services
Winner: Smith & Williamson
Top Employer - Banking & Financial Services
Winner: Schroders
Top Employer - Creative Industries
Winner: Haymarket Media Group
Top Employer - Energy & Utilities
Winner: BP
Top Employer – Engineering
Winner: Mercedes-Benz
Top Employer - Hospitality & Tourism
Winner: TUI UK & Ireland
Top Employer - IT & Technology
Winner: Visa Europe
Top Employer - Property & Construction
Winner: JLL
Top Employer - Public Sector
Winner: Coventry City Council
Top Employer – Retail
Winner: Savers