Mazak wins big at Worcestershire Apprenticeship awards

Yamazaki Mazak celebrated another stellar night for its talent development schemes after scooping three major accolades at the 2024 Worcestershire Apprentice Awards.

2024 was the tenth iteration of the awards, which were organised by Worcestershire County Council and its Local Enterprise Partnership. Over 315 representatives from employers, apprentices, schools, training providers and ambassadors attended the event, which took place on 28 November at the West Midlands Safari Park.

Emelia Hughes (18), who is currently undertaking a mechanical apprenticeship at the company’s European Manufacturing Plant in Worcester, was crowned Advanced Level Apprentice of the Year. Alongside Emelia’s success, Mazak took home the top prize in the Large Apprentice Employer of the Year category as well as the overall award for Worcestershire Apprenticeship Employer of the Year.

The awards are the latest in what is already turning out to be glittering end to 2024 for Mazak. The company has also been recognised as Apprentice Employer of the Year by the Hereford and Worcestershire Group Training Association (HWGTA) at its 2024 graduation ceremony on 5 November. Additionally, Mazak Fabrication Apprentice Charlie Cochrane (17) won the Engineering Endeavour Award at the same event.

Electrical Apprentice Erin Lowe (19) has also been nominated for three prizes at the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards, which are due to take place in London on 9 December.

Max Jones, People Development Manager at Yamazaki Mazak, said: “This was another fantastic night for our current apprentice cohort, who are fast becoming one of our most decorated groups in Mazak apprentice history. Emelia is a brilliant ambassador not only for Mazak, but for engineering as a career.

“From a company perspective, to win three ‘employer’ awards this year is something we are all very proud of. There are many talented individuals, as well as our apprentices themselves, who contribute to the success of our training schemes so it is fantastic to be able to share these successes with all involved.”

Richard Smith, European Group Managing Director at Yamazaki Mazak added: “Training and developing the next generation of engineering talent is one of Mazak’s core values and watching the apprenticeship program flourish year after year has been a personal highlight for me.

“Many of our ex-apprentices have stayed with the company and now actively contribute to training those that have followed in their footsteps. On behalf of everyone at Mazak I would like to congratulate Emelia on her latest success and wish Erin the very best of luck at the upcoming IET Awards.”

Mazak has now trained more than 250 UK apprentices across a range of disciplines spanning production, service and business administration.