1V APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR 2024
WINNER Aaliyah Maulvi
Aaliyah Maulvi was the 1V Apprentice of the Year 2024 Sponsored by Electricity Northwest.
Aaliyah has been an apprentice for Blackburn with Darwen for12 months. Her professional journey at the council began as an apprentice working in both the Child Protection (CP) and the Looked After Children (LAC) teams within Business Operations. Aaliyah was selected to help recruit more apprentices as part of her team at a public council event, exhibiting her dedication that led to positive feedback from heads of services. Her position as a junior apprentice has matured into a seamlessly highly valued team member.
“I feel privileged and grateful for the opportunity and honoured to have won an award from an organisation such as One Voice Blackburn,” said 19 year old Aaliyah Molvi.
THE FINALISTS
Sufyaan Asghar
Sufyaan Asghar is a determined 19-year-old mechatronics engineering apprentice. He works for Pets choice in Blackburn and studies at Training 2000. Sufyaan has always been good at solving problems and tackles complex issues with a practical approach and a history of finding effective solutions. While working in a maintenance environment, he has encountered some challenges, but his approach has always been to embrace these obstacles as opportunities for learning and improvement. Being an apprentice has provided Sufyaan with some meaningful skills about handling challenges and staying open to learning. Once at the point of completing his apprenticeship Sufyaan is committed to a continuous journey of learning and improvement as an engineer.
His vision extends beyond this milestone and he seeks to progress further in the industry, eager to embrace new challenges and opportunities to grow.
Harry Bennett Courland
Harry is a member of the Asset and Commercial Estates Team at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, providing support to surveyors and technical staff who manage all council owned land and buildings. A big part of Harry’s role is to help manage all the council’s records for ownership and responsibility. He has recently worked on a data audit to make sure all the information the department has is correct and up to date. This involved cross-referencing information from the asset record system (Concerto) and the billing system (Civica) to tidy up old records and clear up any aged debt. He has also involved managed part of the minor tenancies portfolio, this consists of over 1050 garage and garden plots. Harry has worked extremely hard, in sometimes a challenging environment, to ensure plots are utilised in an appropriate manner whilst proactively agreeing new lettings to increase occupation and provide health and wellbeing opportunities to local residents.
Aaliyah Maulvi
Aaliyah has been an apprentice for Blackburn with Darwen for the past 12 months. Her professional journey at the council began as an apprentice working in both the Child Protection (CP) and the Looked After Children (LAC) teams within Business Operations. The rich experience of the last year has highlighted just how integral and impactful children’s social care is. Aaliyah is always willing to learn other tasks, support her team and wider Business Operations area. Aaliyah has quickly become a trusted member of the team. Aaliyah demonstrates a mature and professional attitude at all times, and is an outstanding role model for other apprentices. Aaliyah was selected to help recruit more apprentices as part of her team at a public council event, exhibiting her dedication that led to positive feedback from heads of services. Following this there were a notable amount of interest on the apprentice positions. Her position as a junior apprentice has matured into a seamlessly highly valued team member.
Roisa McCusker
Roisa began her apprenticeship at YPS in 2021. This was the first time YPS recruited for a ring-fenced care leaver. From the minute Roisa started she instantly had a huge effect on not only her colleagues but the children, young people and families she worked with. Roisa easily adapted to the team and the numerous targeted projects provided such as working with children with disabilities, children in care and the Targeted Youth Support Programme. Roisa represented views of care leavers in Blackburn with Darwen at numerous strategic boards and was instrumental to the positive changes within the leaving care service. Roisa was also involved within the recruitment of new employees for the council and participated in young people’s interview panels along with providing Total Respect training for staff. Roisa attended the national care leavers benchmarking event in Brentford in 2023 and performed an emotive but powerful poem about what it is like to be a child and young person in the care system.
The Apprentice of the Year Award will acknowledge and celebrate an apprentice’s contribution to their workplace.
To enter this category, you must either be currently undertaking that level (as at 1st November 2023) or have completed it since 1 July 2023.
This is a new award in 2024 and entrants for this category have usually completed more than 50% of their current apprenticeship and also required a reference from their employer.
Employers were also able nominate apprentices who have made an outstanding contribution to the workplace in a short space of time.
The Apprentice of the Year Award was open to those living or working in Blackburn with Darwen. This is a new award for 2024.
