Top To Toe Hair and Beauty Salon, in Wisbech, has been named as one of the East of England’s best Apprenticeship Employers in the regional final of the National Apprenticeship Awards 2014. The National Apprenticeship Awards, now in their eleventh year, celebrate the success of the country’s most exceptional apprentices and Apprenticeship employers. The highly commended entries and winners were announced at a high profile awards ceremony organised by the National Apprenticeship Service, which was held at the Cambridge Belfry Hotel on Thursday 4 September. Top To Toe fought off tough competition to be shortlisted, and was announced as the winner of the Small Employer of the Year category at the Central Eastern ceremony. Paul Davies, Creative Director of Top To Toe said “Apprenticeships are the life blood of our business. They give us the perfect framework to deliver a great standard of education and a Nationally recognised qualification for our Apprentices. Over half of our current hairdressing team either are or were Apprentices in our organisation, including our Salon Manager, Kate Drew. The rewards in staff retention and client loyalty and brand building are invaluable to us.” Jane Howling, Training Advisor at the College of West Anglia nominated the salon and attended the event alongside Paul. She said: “Top to Toe Hair &a Beauty deserves to be recognised in this prestigious way, they have a commitment to apprenticeships and believe that training is the cornerstone to their industry. Paul’s leadership inspires his team to the highest level and I am very proud to work and support them in their training needs”. Nick Boles MP, Minister for Skills said: “The National Apprenticeship Awards are an excellent platform to recognise and celebrate the dedication shown by all of the excellent Apprenticeship employers and apprentices we have in this country. Those who were recognised during the ceremony are the best of the best, and I would like to congratulate them on their success. Apprenticeships continue to grow in popularity, and events like the National Apprenticeship Awards showcase just how beneficial they are for both employers and individuals. I hope everyone who received an award on the night is proud of their achievements, and continues to fly the flag for Apprenticeships throughout their career.” All Central Eastern winners will now proceed through to a final national judging stage, and will have the opportunity to be crowned as the national winner in their category. The Apprenticeship employer entries that were judged to be the very best of the best will have the additional honour of featuring in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list, which will be produced by the National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with City & Guilds. The Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers and the all national award winners will be revealed during the national ceremony on the 13th November at the LG Arena in Birmingham.