The Catch22 Apprenticeships and Employability team has been chosen as a finalist in the ERSA Employability Awards 2017 in the Youth Employment Award category. This award recognises the employment services provider who has demonstrated exceptional commitment in delivering employment services for young adults.
The Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) is the representative body for the employment support sector. ERSA represents organisations that deliver, or have an interest in the delivery, of employment related services.
The ERSA Employability Awards, now in their fifth year and sponsored by Clarion Housing Group, celebrate and champion best practice from across the employment support sector. This year the awards were judged by:
- a member of the Work and Pensions Committee in the last Parliament, Heidi Allen MP;
- Nick Butler, Head of Work programme Performance at the Department for Work and Pensions;
- Laura Gardiner, Senior Research and Policy Analyst, the Resolution Foundation;
- and last year’s winner of the Adviser of the Year Award, Keith Tottingham.
ERSA received over 130 submissions across ten categories. The winners of the Employability Awards will be announced at a special ceremony held in London on 29 June attended by the Minister of State for Employment.
This shortlisting recognises our work supporting 16-24 year olds who aren’t in employment, education, or training to find a supportive place of work and their professional purpose. This year, we supported 1088 individuals across the UK into jobs and apprenticeships.
Our reputation for delivery means we’re asked to work with the hardest to reach individuals with multiple barriers to employment, from family breakdown and young parenthood to lack of recent or relevant work experience. Our team strive to unlock capacity in young people, addressing client challenges holistically, empowering them to discover their passions rather than finding ‘any old job’, engaging employers along the way to ensure our young people are gaining the relevant skills and challenging employers to step up and play their part in building stronger communities around them.
Asi Panditharatna, Director of Apprenticeships and Employability, Catch22, said:
“We are absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for the second year in succession for this prestigious award. To be shortlisted again is testament to the hard work of our staff and the commitment from our funders, partners and employers. The young people we support have also shown great determination to succeed. They all deserve great praise and recognition of what they have achieved.”
Kirsty McHugh, Chief Executive of ERSA, said:
“This year’s award submissions demonstrate the extraordinary achievements of individuals and organisations across the sector and our judges had an unenviable task shortlisting the best of the best in each category. Common to every nomination is the passion and commitment they show to supporting employability and transforming lives, communities and businesses. These awards celebrate and champion the best of the work that goes on at the frontline every day in the sector.”