National Apprenticeship Week
National Apprenticeship Week (10-16 February 2025) is our opportunity to celebrate the achievements of Salford apprentices and the positive impact they are having on their communities, workplaces, and the wider economy.
For the past nine years, our teams have worked alongside our partner employers to develop, upskill and retain teams across a wide variety of sectors including construction, engineering, science, healthcare and policing.
Apprenticeships are the alternative route to a university qualification that allows apprentices to apply theory and the latest research from the classroom directly to their place of work. This page brings together their inspiring stories, as well as news about our annual Apprenticeship Awards that celebrate their outstanding contributions.
National Apprenticeship Week 2025
Every February, we take the opportunity to get involved in the UK's national celebration of apprenticeships with events and activities throughout the week. This year, we had a lot to celebrate as we've seen our apprenticeship provision continue to grow and develop, in part due to the over half a million pounds in funding we received from the Office for Students. Watch our video to see how we celebrated National Apprenticeship Week 2025.
Evidence-Based Policing in Action
The School of Health and Society's Policing team brought together Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers, University of Salford academics and Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) graduates for an afternoon of research and networking to share the ways that apprentices' research is being embedded into the force's problem-solving practices.
Evidence-Based Policing in Action
Apprentices are making a contribution from day one, as soon as they start their studies. Whether it's working alongside other more experienced colleagues or developing new projects and new initiatives, it really helps our businesses and organisations to succeed. We're absolutely proud of our apprenticeship programmes here in Greater Manchester.
Kate Green, Greater Manchester's Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities
Laing O'Rourke's Apprenticeship Roadshow
Laing O'Rourke is one of our biggest longstanding partner employers. As part of National Apprenticeship Week, we hosted their Apprenticeship Roadshow that allowed would-be apprentices to find out about apprenticeship opportunities on offer and learn more about the construction industry.
Laing O'Rourke's Apprenticeship Roadshow
Working with University of Salford on an apprenticeships programme is a really great experience. We’ve been working with the University for over six years now, and we know they've got a well-structured delivery arm with the right people at the University to support our apprentices and to monitor their progress.
Scott Bell, Training Competence and Early Talent Lead for Laing O’Rourke
NHS Apprenticeship events
The team attended events both online and in person throughout the week to support our NHS partner Trusts, including Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust.
Learning and Networking
Our current apprentices had the opportunity to attend events throughout the week that supported their professional development and helped them to grow their networks, like the event organised by the School of Health and Society for Public Health Practitioner degree apprentices.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion training
We want equity, diversity and inclusion to be at the heart of everything we do at Salford. That's why staff members from the School of Health and Society took the opportunity to come together and learn from experts about how we can do more to support underrepresented students.
Apprenticeship Awards
Every year, the highlight of National Apprenticeship Week is our Apprenticeship Awards evening where we celebrate the exceptional work of our apprentices, employers and programme teams. This year, our Apprenticeship Awards took place at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester on Thursday 13 February 2025.
Apprenticeship Awards
"Events like the Apprenticeship Awards are really important because they provide us all with an opportunity to hear first-hand how apprenticeships have fundamentally transformed people’s lives in our city. They have given people hope for the future while skilling them and giving them a wealth of experience that they can take with them into the labour market and beyond as they develop their career."
Paul Dennett, Salford City Mayor
Our apprentices' proudest achievements
Employed in organisations from councils and construction companies to hospitals and laboratories, our apprentices are making a hugely positive impact within their organisations by bringing their creativity and commitment, as well as the latest research, straight into the workplace. We asked a few of our apprentices and alumni to tell us about their proudest achievements from their career and apprenticeship so far.
Lloyd, Biomedical Scientist apprentice
“My proudest achievement during the apprenticeship is having two published articles with the Bioscientist magazine, having the opportunity to interview the NHS Deputy Chief Scientific Officer was a real privilege.”
Michelle, Community Specialist Nursing Practitioner apprentice
“A moment that stands out is being asked to lead on the Trust’s menopause learning disabilities sub pathway. Since being an undergraduate I have had a passion to improve outcomes for our most vulnerable patients.”
Ethan McKnight, Nursing Associate apprentice
"Winning the Made in Manchester 2025 Apprentice of the Year award is an incredible honour, and it reaffirms my belief that apprenticeships provide the perfect foundation for building a successful, impactful career."
Jasmine Pugh, Building Surveying apprentice
"I set up a support group within Staffordshire for young professionals on their APC route with the RICS. I noticed that there was a gap, with the closest areas offering this being Manchester and Birmingham. We have reached eight members in the group and I hope to have more join in the future! I am proud of this as it was hard to engage people to want to come when no one else had offered this in Staffordshire."
Spencer, Chartered Management apprentice alumni
"My proudest achievement was rising to the role of Head of Learning and Development during my apprenticeship at EG Group. It was a defining moment in my career and enabled me to achieve my ultimate career goal - becoming Head of Department, where I now drive impactful learning initiatives."
Grace Howell, Quantity Surveying apprentice
"A moment that stood out to me was being asked to go back to my secondary school to tell all the girls about what construction is and what an apprenticeship is all about."
Luke, Public Health apprentice
"I worked on our Let’s Chat Derbyshire campaign that aims to get people chatting and decrease the stigma around loneliness. The NHS in Derbyshire, the council and different workplaces have embedded it into their policies and our work has led to our biggest ever Suicide Prevention Event that had over 1,000 attendees on the day. It’s really nice to see the wide spread that just one campaign has had."
Connor Hughes, Quantity Surveying apprentice alumni
"My proudest moment was the achievement of my RICS accreditation. The apprenticeship assisted in achieving this as much of the knowledge I gained were through modules I had completed in my education. This meant I had a great level of foundation knowledge which I could then target to develop further in the workplace."
We are proud to be one of the leading apprenticeship providers in the North West, equipping our partner employers with the skills needed to meet the needs of industry.
In our recent video, Vice-Chancellor, Nic Beech shared the important role apprenticeships play for us as a university and in driving innovation.
Apprenticeship Awards
During National Apprenticeship Week, the Apprenticeship Services Unit hosts our annual awards evening to celebrate the exceptional work of our apprentices, employers and programme teams. This year, attendees heard inspiring stories from apprentices and alumni, and celebrated the outstanding impact they're having in the workplace and their communities.
"Events like the Apprenticeship Awards are really important because they provide us all with an opportunity to learn from one another and to hear first-hand how apprenticeships have fundamentally transformed people’s lives in our city. They have given people hope for the future while skilling them and giving them a wealth of experience that they can take with them into the labour market and beyond as they develop their career."
Paul Dennett, Salford City Mayor
This year, our Apprenticeship Awards took place at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester on Thursday 13 February 2025. Visit our webpage below for more information about this year's awards and to see our full list of nominees.
Celebrating success at Salford
The University's Apprenticeship Awards aren't the only prizes our community is taking home. We're hugely proud of our apprentices who have gone above and beyond in their workplace and, as a result, many have been recognised on a national stage. Here are just a few of the recent award wins we’re celebrating at Salford: