Posted28.12.16
George Bageya is Apprentice of the Year 2016
We are delighted to announce that George Bageya, Digital Inclusion Officer has won Apprentice of the Year 2016 in the national ‘Housing Heroes’ Awards, organised by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and Inside Housing. The awards aim to ensure those ‘unsung heroes’ of the housing world are recognised and rewarded for their contribution in making housing such a vibrant and caring sector. George was pronounced London’s Apprentice of the Year in May and went on to be judged as the overall winner out of all nine regions across the UK.
George said, “I am honoured and humbled to win the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ Housing Heroes Award. I was proud to represent Evolve Housing + Support at such a prestigious event for our sector. It was a wonderful night and I really enjoyed it. I hope my experience inspires others.”
Jeremy Gray, Chief Executive of Evolve said, “I am extremely proud that George has won this award. It is entirely deserved and reflects the commitment and passion that George has for working with people who have experienced homelessness in London.”
George graduated from Evolve’s Support Worker Apprenticeship programme in 2015. The programme provides an opportunity for people without support work experience to become trainee support workers. Many trainees have lived experience of homelessness, and use their experience to the benefit of other homeless people. Since graduating from the apprenticeship programme, George has made a lasting difference to Evolve’s customers, including helping to run the Digital Inclusion programme (funded by the Tinder Foundation) to teach customers IT skills. George’s dedication to his work has now been acknowledged through this prestigious award which recognises the contribution of apprentices across the housing sector.
The awards ceremony took place at Manchester Central Exchange hall on 27 June 2016 and was hosted by Broadcaster, Author and former MP, Gyles Brandreth. The evening brought together over 700 people including housing industry figureheads and well-known individuals from leading trade associations and government. The event is part of the CIH Housing Conference and Exhibition which runs until the end of June.
For more information about our Trainee Support Worker programme, please see our Customer Employment Partnership page.
