The Cornwall Apprenticeship Awards is set to return to Truro and Penwith College for the third time.

Staff at the college are again on the hunt for both apprentice and employers that demonstrate outstanding achievement and commitment to apprenticeships.

Any learner or employer who is involved in apprenticeship training in Cornwall is eligible to be nominated, regardless of the College or training provider that delivers their training.

The only condition is that they are still training as an apprentice, or completed their training after June 1, 2016.

Nominees will be shortlisted, and a panel of judges consisting of employers across Cornwall will decide who will be the apprentice or employer of the year in each of the fifteen categories.

In 2016, 36-year-old Emma Ferguson from Harrowbarrow and Metherell Pre-School, was awarded Apprentice of the Year in Health, Social Care and Childcare and scooped the coveted Cornwall’s Apprentice of the Year Award for her astonishing rise from apprentice to acting setting leader.

Professional cookery apprentice Lucy Wilton, from the Eden Project, was awarded Achiever of the Year in 2016.

Lucy was just 10 months into her apprenticeship at the time, and had shown massive improvement in her self-confidence following some significant personal challenges and despite her family circumstances having to be balanced with the workplace while assisting a family member in hospital.

Members of the public will have an opportunity to help determine the Achiever of the Year for the first time in 2017, by voting for their winner from three shortlisted nominees on the Truro and Penwith College website.

The public vote will go live in early September, and the result will be combined with the scores of three judges from apprentice employers to determine the winner of the category.

Tregothnan Estate and CORMAC won SME and Large Employer of the year respectively in 2016 for the exceptional support and progression opportunities available to their apprentices.

The employers have since supported Truro and Penwith College at a number of events to spread the word about apprenticeship training.

The 2017 Awards will be held in Truro College’s Gannel building on November 17, in association with GetMyFirstJob.

David Walrond, principal of Truro and Penwith College said: “2017 marks a very exciting time for apprenticeship training, with a government commitment to achieving its target of three million apprentices in England by 2020.

"As a College we are strongly committed to delivering an outstanding experience for our learners and employers, and we are delighted to host these Awards which provide the perfect opportunity to recognise exceptional achievement and commitment across Cornwall.”

Nominations for the awards are being accepted via the Truro and Penwith College website.