We’ve won a Weston College Business Award!

Colleagues from our Sector Based Work Academy Programme – or SWAP – team are celebrating after they took home an award at this month’s Weston College Business Awards.

Weston Super Mare's prestigious Winter Gardens venue played host to the highly anticipated awards on Thursday 15 June, which brought together 250 distinguished guests for an inspiring celebration of learners and local employers, who’ve worked closely with the college to offer work-placed opportunities to people starting their career. 

Our trust has been named as ‘Pre-employment Employer of the Year’, with judges saying they recognised our dedication to supporting unemployed people through SWAP, to gain employment in clinical and support roles within the NHS.

Nina Dawe, our SWAP team leader, said she was proud to work alongside some exceptional colleagues. “The hard work and passion for the programme that comes from our SWAP team is outstanding and to see that recognised is fantastic,” she said.

"We were nominated last year, so to come back this year after significant changes across both our team and trust and get that win is an achievement we are delighted with.

“Thank you to Anna, Alex, Hannah, Kate, Kathryn, Ross, and Sarah for being instrumental in this success.”

Principal and CEO of Weston College Group, Sir Paul Phillips, hosted the awards. He said: “This year we received a huge number of nominations and, while this made judging an unenviable task, it highlights the wealth of talent among our learners and the level of dedication and expertise within our employer network.  

“It was fantastic to celebrate the many successes of our work-based learners, who show outstanding commitment to their programmes. They are truly a credit to the college and their employers.  

“Working with key employers is key to us in supporting the region to level up, and it was a pleasure to recognise so many brilliant businesses.  

“I would like to say congratulations to Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, and we are delighted to work closely with them. We share a passion for creating opportunities for our learners, and together we are developing the workforce for industry.”