Proskills UK Annual Conference 2009

Apprentices are the lifeblood of our industries and are key to the economic growth of the UK.

Proskills Apprenticeship Awards celebrate the star performers in the process and manufacturing sector. This is a UK-wide opportunity for employers to put forward their top apprentices to showcase their achievements and the contribution and difference they have made to their businesses.

Apprentice of the Year
Advanced Apprentice of the Year
Achiever of the Year

All apprentices working in the Building Products, Coatings, Extractive and Mineral Processing, Furniture, Furnishings & Interiors, Glass and Glazing, Glazed Ceramics, Paper and Print are eligible for entry to the awards.

Application forms can be downloaded from the main Proskills website and returned via email, fax or post.

Closing date for entries is 24 July 2009.

The Apprenticeship Awards Dinner will be a celebration of the winners in recognition of their outstanding performance and valuable contribution to the companies they work for.

Trophies and prizes will be presented to the winners and runner-ups for each of the named categories.

The Finalists

The nine finalists for this year are :-

Elvin Baffour - Able & Ryan
Tom Burgess - Pilkington
Paul Harvey - Wirral Partnership Homes
Lucianna Hinch - DC Contracts
Rhian Johns - Print & Graphics
Daniel Metcalf - Auto Windscreens
Ben Morris - Pilkington
Gary Parton - Ibstock Brick Ltd
Jennifer Pyne - Alcan Packaging

Mark Steel - Guest Speaker

A commentator and stand-up comedian, Mark Steel has presented several radio and television programmes, and appeared on Have I Got News for You and Never Mind the Buzzcocks. Mark started doing stand-up comedy in 1982 with bizarre gigs and soon came the Comedy Store and Jongleurs, and then a regular slot on Radio 4's Loose Ends.

He did four series' of The Mark Steel Solution, one for Radio 5 and the others on BBC Radio 4, a radio series about cricket and he presented three series of a sports programme called Extra Time. Then there were four series of the lectures on Radio 4, a book called It's Not a Runner Bean, another one called Reasons to be Cheerful, and 3 television series of the lectures on BBC 4 and BBC 2.

He has done weekly columns in Socialist Worker, The Guardian and The Independent. There was a book called Vive le Revolution, and he’s been on various panel shows like Have I Got News For You, QI, Room 101, and Question Time.

Mark has spoken at lots of demonstrations, union meetings, protests, and appeared at quite a few benefits.

To go to the Mark Steel official website click here

To see him in action click here