Yamazaki Mazak won three awards at the recent regional Worcestershire Apprentice Awards, including the overall award for Worcestershire Apprenticeship Employer of the Year.
The awards are organised by Worcestershire County Council and its Local Enterprise Partnership and saw around 315 representatives from employers, apprentices, schools, training providers and ambassadors attended the event at West Midlands Safari Park in late November.
Emelia Hughes (18), a mechanical apprentice at the company’s European Manufacturing Plant in Worcester, was crowned Advanced Level Apprentice of the Year.
In addition to Emelia’s success, Mazak took home the top prize in the Large Apprentice Employer of the Year category as well as the overall award for Worcestershire Apprenticeship Employer of the Year.
The awards were the latest in what was a successful end to 2024 for Mazak. The company has also been recognised as Apprentice Employer of the Year by the Hereford and Worcestershire Group Training Association (HWGTA) at its 2024 graduation ceremony on November 5, while Mazak Fabrication Apprentice Charlie Cochrane (17) won the Engineering Endeavour Award at the same event.
Max Jones, People Development Manager at Yamazaki Mazak, said: “This was another fantastic night for our current apprentice cohort, who are fast becoming one of our most decorated groups in Mazak apprentice history. Emelia is a brilliant ambassador not only for Mazak, but for engineering as a career.
“From a company perspective, to win three ‘employer’ awards this year is something we are all very proud of. There are many talented individuals, as well as our apprentices themselves, who contribute to the success of our training schemes so it is fantastic to be able to share these successes with all involved”.
Richard Smith, European Group Managing Director at Yamazaki Mazak, added: “Training and developing the next generation of engineering talent is one of Mazak’s core values and watching the apprenticeship program flourish year after year has been a personal highlight for me”.