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Ginger Nut Training Wins Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Employer of the Year at the East of England National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards 2026

by | Oct 10, 2026

Blog | Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
We are incredibly proud to share that Ginger Nut Training has been named the East of England winner of the Aptem Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Employer of the Year Award at the National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards 2026.
The National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards recognise apprentices, employers, skills champions and others making an impact through apprenticeships and skills. The official awards criteria describe the Aptem Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Employer of the Year Award as recognising an organisation demonstrating the impact it has made in creating opportunities and support for people who are disadvantaged or under-represented.
For Ginger Nut Training, that makes this recognition particularly meaningful.

Creating Opportunity Through Apprenticeships

Our approach has always been based on a simple principle: talent and potential should not be limited by someone’s circumstances or the barriers they have faced.

That means looking beyond simply delivering an apprenticeship standard.

Across our work, we aim to understand individual circumstances, remove barriers where we can, provide appropriate support and create opportunities for people to develop the confidence, skills and experience they need to progress.

This includes our wider work supporting care-experienced learners, people requiring additional support and those for whom moving into employment or an apprenticeship may require a more individual pathway.

Winning this award provides welcome external recognition of that commitment.

A Fantastic Day for Our Apprentices Too

The awards also brought some fantastic recognition for apprentices supported by Ginger Nut Training.
One apprentice we support was recognised as the East of England Lloyds Banking Group Rising Star of the Year, an award designed to recognise apprentices who have already made impressive progress in their careers and have the potential to go even further.
Another apprentice we support also received recognition for their contribution as an apprenticeship ambassador.
Seeing apprentices recognised individually is particularly important to us. Ultimately, the impact of an apprenticeship is best demonstrated through the individuals who develop their skills, grow professionally and use their experiences to encourage others.

Recognising a Commitment to Skills

There was further recognition for Ginger Nut Training’s company owner, who was named East of England winner of the Royal Air Force Skills Champion of the Year Award.
The official National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards include Skills Champion as one of their individual recognition categories alongside apprentice, employer and T Level awards.
Taken together, the day’s results provided recognition across several different areas: our organisation as an employer, apprentices we support, and the people helping to champion apprenticeships and skills more widely.

Inclusion Is About Impact

For us, equality, diversity and inclusion cannot simply be a policy or statement.
It needs to translate into practical action and outcomes.
That means continuing to ask:
  • Who is currently accessing our opportunities?
  • Who might be missing out?
  • What barriers are learners experiencing?
  • What support can make a meaningful difference?
  • Are learners participating, progressing and achieving?
  • What can we learn from their experience?
That focus also reflects the direction of the current Ofsted framework for further education and skills. Inclusion is now evaluated at whole-provider level, and the inspection toolkit focuses on the impact of the systems and processes providers use to support learners and continually improve provision.

Thank You

This recognition belongs to far more people than those collecting awards.
Thank you to our apprentices, staff, employers, partners, governors and the organisations we work alongside who continue to help us create better and more accessible opportunities.
And congratulations to all of the winners, highly commended entries and finalists recognised across the East of England National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards 2026.
We are incredibly proud of what has been achieved, and even more committed to what comes next.
An apprentice supported by Ginger Nut Training was named Lloyds Banking Group Rising Star of the Year for the East of England, recognising the impressive progress already made and their potential to go even further.
Tasnia Malik , West Suffolk CouncilAnother apprentice we support (and who supports us as a Learner Representative!) received recognition as Outstanding Apprenticeship Ambassador of the Year. Ezra Croucher, Wilson James

And Ginger Nut Training’s company owner Phil Warnock was named East of England Royal Air Force (RAF) Skills Champion of the Year, recognising the commitment to championing skills and the opportunities apprenticeships can create.

Huge applause to fellow winners;

Helping to create opportunities to improve people’s lives.

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