THE Royal Air Force Museum in Cosford has won a national award in recognition of its work with people on apprenticeship schemes.
The museum was crowned best small employer at the National Apprentice Awards – one of eight category winners from across the country.
Also picking up an award was 16-year-old hairdresser Luke Jennings, who was highly commended in the Young Apprentice of the Year category and who one day hopes to open his own salon.
Both Mr Jennings and RAF Cosford were at the national final in London after winning the West Midlands regional awards last month.
A judges’ citation said: “Faced with an imminent skills gap, the Royal Air Force Museum set up an apprenticeship programme in aircraft restoration to better-enable it to preserve its exhibits.
“Apprentices are given the opportunity to do hands-on training at the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre in Cosford, where they contribute to on-going maintenance and restoration projects.
“The museum has also developed strong links with Boeing Seattle in the USA with which it runs an exchange programme.”
The museum’s manager Mike Shepherd said: “We are all absolutely delighted to have received this award.
“It is a wonderful accolade for the Royal Air Force Museum and particularly for the staff of the Michael Beetham Conservation Centre, who have all shown great patience and understanding while passing on their skills and knowledge to our young apprentices.”
The awards are organised by the National Apprenticeship Service which is responsible for apprenticeships in England and strives to increase the number of them in businesses.
NAS regional director for the West Midlands Stephen Lilley added: “We are very proud of the RAF Museum’s achievement.
“They are a great example of an employer investing a huge amount into having apprentices and giving them a great start to a fascinating and rewarding career.
“The fantastic opportunities the RAF Museum provides to young people from Shropshire and beyond means the museum deserves the national recognition of this prestigious award.”
Picture from left: Peter Butler from award sponsor BT, Mike Shepherd of RAF Museum Cosford and NAS chief executive Simon Waugh.
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