International Hurdler Julz Adeniran’s Awards to Uxbridge College Employers and Apprentices
Uxbridge College employer partners and apprentices were honoured for their achievements by Great Britain and England international 110m Hurdler Julz Adeniran at an awards night, where sponsors included Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce.
Winners from amongst Uxbridge College’s employer partners and apprenticeship programmes included:
One Care iT Limited – Apprentice Employer Award. This award recognises the ongoing commitment of one of Uxbridge College’s apprentice employers. One Care iT Ltd is one of the College’s newer apprentice employers, having this year taken on two apprentices for the first time. The company, which provides B2B IT Security, Storage and Support, has shown great commitment to the two apprentices, including accommodating them to start their driving lessons as well as their theory and practical tests.
Primary Sporting Development – Work Experience Employer Award. This award recognises exceptional support for Uxbridge College’s work experience programmes. PSD provides fantastic opportunities for students on Level 3 Diplomas in sport, and in sport and coaching, to improve their employability skills for careers around Sports Coaching. The company offers high-quality placements in primary schools where it provides sports coaching, and a generous number of placements, and has also taken on a number of former students as staff.
Kieran Smith, Award Allied Worldwide Ltd – Intermediate Apprentice Award sponsored by Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce. An accounting apprentice at Allied Worldwide Ltd, who works hard, produces work of a very high standard, learns his subjects very quickly, and spends many hours studying independently. He plans to become a chartered accountant.
Priya Sembi-Harding, Royal Opera House – Advanced Apprentice Award sponsored by Hillingdon Chamber of Commerce. Her engineering-based trade as a stage technician involves a host of interesting tasks related to the complex behind-the-scenes technology required to put on major shows. Described as ‘one in million’, she helps make sure any event runs smoothly, and can always be relied upon.
Julz presented awards to winners chosen from amongst the College’s employer partners, apprentices and other full-time and part-time learners and at its Annual Awards Ceremony. The event, held at The Beck Theatre in Hayes, recognised winners chosen from among the 1,000 employers the College works with and from across the its academic and vocational programmes, including Apprenticeships, GCSEs, A-levels, BTEC qualifications and HNDs.
Julz talked about his journey to becoming a competitive hurdler, his philosophy for success, and how his hopes for the 2016 Olympics were dashed when his Achilles tendon snapped while training. He encouraged the audience to focus on their goals, and emphasised the role of applying self-discipline in achieving success, as well as being prepared to keep going after failures and disappointments. He also talked about his hero Usain Bolt and even took a selfie with the audience while striking the famous Bolt celebratory pose.
Principal of Uxbridge College, Laraine Smith OBE, said: “Our Awards ceremony with special guest 110m Hurdler Julz Adeniran was a wonderful celebration of the successes of our students, our employer partners, and the College as a whole – congratulations to everyone. For our students we had a chance to recognise their many achievements, including their academic and vocational achievements, which are often come by despite many challenges, and the many contributions they make to their peer groups and communities. Our awards in the employment-related training category were also a real reflection of how important business partnerships and work-based training is, not only to the College and our students, but to our broader community as a whole. Julz was a real inspiration to everyone and made the evening really special, and I’d like to say a big thank you to him for coming along.”
