Harrow College has been recognised for its partnership work with Building Lives, at an awards ceremony hosted by the community interest and social enterprise company and sponsored by Travis Perkins.
Harrow College won the College of the Year accolade at Building Lives’ Travis Perkins Star Awards, which took place at the offices of law firm Field Fisher, in London Bridge on Monday 8 December 2014.
Also recognised on the night was Harrow College lecturer Karl Vidol, who won the Tutor of the Year award.
Construction apprentices and staff from Harrow College joined around 200 people in attending the Building Lives awards ceremony, which celebrated the hard work and dedication of students, teaching staff and industry partners.
Included in the audience were industry leaders from the housing, construction and training sectors, along with Building Lives and Harrow College construction apprentices.
Speeches on the night came from television personality and builder Tommy Walsh and current and former apprentices. There was also a motivational performance given by Rommell Wallace, poet from SAY.
The event also served to launch Building Lives Foundation. The charity will launch in early next year and help Building Lives open new academies, which will help more people enter into the construction industry.
Pat Carvalho, vice principal at Harrow College said: "It was a real pleasure attending this event which celebrated the success of our partnership with Building Lives and in particular the success of all our students as well as staff. The college won awards for best student attendance, best tutor (out of all the colleges) and best college partner. I would like to say thank you to the managers and staff who work at our Building Lives Centres for their hard work and dedication."
Steve Porter, head of development, enterprise and innovation at Harrow College added: "The Travis Perking Star Awards were a great event that showcased the best of apprenticeship achievement in London. Harrow College staff were proud to accept the College of the Year award, rewarding the contribution to the programme that Harrow has made over the past year."
Building Lives is an employer-led training provider aiming to close the gap between training and employment.
The organisation has grown rapidly since inception from its first Construction Training Academy opening in 2010, to a portfolio of 10 academies, with 10 more academies due to open in 2015.
Building Lives works in conjunction with Harrow College and a host of other partners in and around the construction industry. It is a unique collaboration helping people into work, while benefitting the local community.
Sian Workman, interim managing director at Building Lives, hosted the awards ceremony. She said that Building Lives offered great opportunities to young people and the local community.
“Building Lives is more than a social enterprise or charity,” said Workman. “It is a strong partnership that demonstrates that when people put aside competition and commercial interests to focus on a common goal anything is possible. These awards provide the perfect platform to reward apprentices for their tremendous efforts and for us to say a massive thank you to all of the amazing partners that make up Building Lives.”
The night’s winners are as follows:
APPRENTICE AWARDS
Apprentice of the Year: Ismail Warsame
Best Attendance and Time Keeping: Daniel James, Daniel Fletcher, Stewart Cudd and Shane Easton
Team Player of the Year: Robert Ingleby, Highly Acclaimed: Sonny Keen
Most Improved Apprentice: Declan Norrie, Highly Accliamed: Ciaran Channing
Female Apprentice of the Year: Cielle Byran-Hamilton, Highly Acclaimed: Katie Sutton
PARTNER AWARDS
Subcontractor of the Year: R Benson, Highly Acclaimed: JA Stott Carpentry and Armour Group
Main Contractor of the Year: Berkeley Group, Highly Acclaimed: K&T Heating and Keepmoat
College of the Year: Harrow College
Supporter of the Year: CITB, Highly Acclaimed: LandAid and BITC
On site Mentor of the Year: Warren Lubin - Sisk
Social Landlords of the Year: RHP, Camden Council, Thames Reach, Poplar HARCA, Peabody, Hackney Homes, Homes for Haringey, Sutton Housing Partnership, Lewisham Council, Affinity Sutton, Swan Housing, Phoenix Community Housing and One Housing Group
STAFF AWARDS
Apprentice Officer of the Year: Lauren Edwards, Highly Acclaimed: Caroline O’Leary, Acclaimed: Abdi Yusuf
Tutor of the Year: Karl Vidol, Tower Hamlets/ Richmond
Assessor of the Year: Kwaku Dzidzornu, Highly Acclaimed: Jadavij Patel
Outstanding Performances: Claire Williams and Philippa Somerset