THE Learning and Skills Council is giving a final call to employers and apprentices in Worcestershire to enter this year's national Apprentice-ship Awards.

The awards will celebrate the achievement of employers and young people through apprenticeships. The closing date for entries is Friday, February 24, with winners being announced at the London Hilton in Park Lane, on Thursday, June 15.

Stephen Gardner, director of apprenticeships at the LSC, said: "The national Appren-ticeship Awards is the major event in the apprenticeship calendar. It provides a great opportunity to honour UK businesses for the outstanding contribution they are making to raise skills levels and to recognise those young people who are raising their skill levels and benefiting industries across the country.

"The quality of entries from both apprentices and employers for the 2004 and 2005 awards was outstanding.

"We received more than 1,000 entries in 2005 alone and look forward to beating that in 2006. I hope apprentices and employers across the country will take this final opportunity to put themselves forward for one of these prestigious awards," Mr Gardner said.

The awards are the third to be held by the LSC and as well as recognising employers who are successfully using apprenticeships to improve business performance, they will also applaud the hard work and commitment of young people currently on, or who have completed, an apprenticeship.

Employers can enter one of four categories, depending on company size. These are micro (for 1-9 employees), small (10-49 employees), medium (50-249 employees) and large (250 or more employees). Businesses are assessed on a number of criteria including implementation of the apprenticeship programme, clear demonstration of the way apprentice-ships have benefited their business and the level of support for their apprentices.

In addition to the employer categories, five awards will be awarded to apprentices, including Apprentice of the Year, Advanced Apprentice of the Year, Personal Achiever of the Year (ages 16-18), Personal Achiever of the Year (ages 19-24) and the Young Apprentice of the Year, following the introduction of young apprenticeships for those aged 14 to 16, in full-time education.

To enter the awards, visit: www.apprenticeships.org.uk/awards or call the awards helpline on 0800 0192083.