Telford apprentice scoops national award
An apprentice at The Wrekin Housing Group has been recognised as a rising star at a national awards ceremony.
Charlotte Hughes beat competition from across the country to be named ‘Apprentice of the Year’ at this year’s Housing Heroes/Women in Housing Awards.
As a business administrator apprentice, Charlotte has been instrumental in creating Wrekin’s central admin team, which was set up to help the organisation during the pandemic.
Charlotte put herself forward to help lead and organise the team, using her own initiative to recruit fellow apprentice colleagues to help in the organisation’s response.
Wrekin’s Morag Bailey was also recognised at the ceremony, which were held at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester. Morag was ‘highly commended’ in the ‘Lifetime Achievement in Housing’ category due to her selfless attitude and unbreakable commitment to helping others during her 35 years in the housing sector.
Emma Humphries, Wrekin’s head of operational services, was shortlisted in the Woman of the Year’ category.
Charlotte is no stranger to awards recognition. Last year, she was named as one of the Telford College’s top performing apprentices after she received the ‘Outstanding Achiever’ award.
Charlotte said: “I am absolutely delighted and surprised to have won the Apprentice of the Year award. It has taken a little while to sink in.
"It is a great honour and a testament to the professional and personal support I’ve received from my colleagues here at Wrekin. Serving my apprenticeship at Wrekin has provided me with a great kick-start to my career and an amazing environment for me to learn."
Wayne Gethings, group chief executive at The Wrekin Housing Group added: “Charlotte has been a great asset to Wrekin. She is hard working and dedicated, keen to learn and hugely popular with colleagues. Charlotte is also a real inspiration to her peers and younger members of staff who have recently joined the organisation.
“At Wrekin, we are committed to providing career opportunities for local youngsters. In the last year we have provided 27 people with apprenticeship and training opportunities. We have also taken on over 40 young people via the Government’s Kickstart scheme – with a number having already gone on to secure full time employment.”
