Are the Awards free to enter – Yes, there is no charge to register or submit an entry.
Biography Details section not complete – Please check that you have included a mobile telephone number and that you have ticked the box below End-Point Assessment 5 to confirm that you have checked details are correct.
Company Registration Number – This can usually be found on your organisation letterhead, email footer or website. Public sector organisations such as councils and NHS Trusts would not have a Company Registration Number. Please insert “N/A” if your organisation does not have a Company Registration Number.
Confidentiality – No part of the entry would be made public apart from the biography which would be used for PR if the entry is shortlisted. The main redacted entry (excluding biography) would be read by assessors and, if shortlisted, also read by judges.
Employer unable to edit Apprentice of the Year sub-account entry following reference request – Please check if the same email has been used to register the entry as used for the reference request. If same email used please revoke the referee request email and replace with alternative email address.
Key Dates – Closing date for entries is Wednesday 28 July at 5.00pm. Regional finalists were announced on Thursday 30 September. There will be virtual regional ceremonies taking place between w/c Monday 18 to Friday 29 October for applicants, where 1 Regional Winner and 1 Highly Commended is awarded per category. Regional winners will automatically be shortlisted for the national stage. This shortlist will undergo a second tier national judging process where the national finalists will be selected. National finalists will be announced on Monday 15 November. Only national finalists will be invited to the national awards ceremony competing with the country’s elite to become a national winner. The national ceremony will take place on Wednesday 1 December.
Learning provider details if more than 5 – If your organisation has more than 5 learning providers then it is the entrant’s choice to the 5 that are submitted in the entry.
Photo and Table Attachment – In addition to the onscreen guidance it is important to remember that all text and numbers contained in the supporting evidence document should be counted. This includes axes text and key/legend text on charts/graphs and captions accompanying photographs. Examples of words to be counted: February 2020 = 2 words; 90% = 1 word; £5,000.00 = 1 word. Two photographs may be included and these can comprise of a collage of images. Assessors and Judges are not allowed to click on hyperlinks to websites or videos so please do not include in any part of your entry. Please only upload a pdf file type - please contact the Helpline if you need assistance with converting your document to a pdf.
Postcode not recognised for judging region – If your postcode is not recognised please check that it has been entered correctly for example typing a capital “O” where it should be a zero. If postcode entered correctly and no judging region is allocated when page is saved after entering postcode then please email entries@appawards.co.uk with your application reference ID and correct postcode.
Referee unable to type into reference response box and red warning icon appears – If you have multiple logins please ensure that you log out between account access and that you don’t have multiple browser tabs open. If you have not validated your email address you will see a warning message at the top of your screen. You will need to verify your email address before you can start the reference by using the email link sent to you when you registered your account. To continue, click the “Accept Reference” button towards the top of the screen and then click “Leave Reference” button on the green bar.
Resubmissions – A resubmission is an entry which describes an apprenticeship and associated benefits which have been used as part of a previous entry within the past two years. Resubmitted entries are considered for another award based upon the progression made since the previous Award was received (if applicable). If your organisation submitted an Employer of the Year entry in 2019 or 2020 then you will need to complete this section.
Save frequently – Please use the Word planning document available to download from the Categories section of the website to plan your responses offline and when finalised copy and submit entry online. This is strongly recommended as if you compose text online and don’t save frequently then you may lose unsaved text. The website times out after 15 minutes of inactivity.
Sub-account – An employer can create a sub-account if they wish to help an apprentice with their Apprentice of the Year entry. To create a sub-account log in to your Employer account and on the “My 2021 Applications” screen scroll to bottom of page and click on the blue “Create new sub-account create account” box. Enter the name and email of the apprentice – this sends an email to the apprentice to create their own account and add a password. The employer will then click “new application” button by the side of the apprentice’s name on the list below the “Create new sub-account” box. This gives dual access to the entry but please do not edit the entry at the same time as the apprentice. Important – if the employer who created the sub-account also wants to act as referee then they must use a different email address when completing the “Referee Request” section in the entry.
Twitter handle – Please insert “N/A” if your organisation does not have a Twitter handle.
