Adopt an Intern announces the award winners at its inaugural awards night held at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday, 30 April 2015.
A fantastic night to celebrate 5 years of Adopt an Intern!
For each of awards the standard of applications was extremely high and the judges had great difficulty in choosing their winners – a great barometer of the significant talent that we have in our graduate population and the businesses and organisations that make up our economy.
Adopt an Intern are thrilled to announce this year’s winners:
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| Intern of the Year Alexis Cairnie [Gary Merrylees, Talent Manager, Diageo (left) with Alexis Cairnie, East Ayrshire Leisure Intern (right)] | Employer of the Year Commando Spirit [left to right: Olivia Robertson, Commando Spirit Intern; Laura Peacock, Investors in Young People; Sally-Anne Hunter, CEO Commando Spirit] | Outstanding Achievement Working on Wheels [left to right: Judith Tate, Working on Wheels Intern, Mike Connelly, Abellio; Neil Logan, Director Scotland, Working on Wheels; Rachel Hopkins, Working on Wheels Intern, Tracy Bogan, Working on Wheels Intern] |
The awards were judged by Susan Edwards, Director of HR, Abellio UK; Gary Merrylees, Talent Manager, Diageo; Laura Peacock, Key Relationship Manager at Investors in People; and Rhoda Grant MSP. Throughout the evening RBS presented all the successful finalists with certificates of commendation.
In addition to the main awards, following a survey of graduates, Scottish Water received the accolade of ‘Scotland’s large business that graduates most aspire to work for’.
Adopt an Intern celebrated its 5th anniversary by also announcing that it has placed its 1000th intern, a landmark reached just over a year since passing the 500 mark.
Annabelle Ewing MSP, Minister for Youth and Women’s Employment, keynote speaker at the awards said:
“Adopt an Intern has proven itself to be an important and influential scheme, providing 1000 young graduates over the last five years with an invaluable stepping stone to developing their careers.
“The Scottish Government is a proud supporter of this scheme as we recognise investing in our young workforce is key to the future economic success of the country. Our future workforce needs the best possible chance to develop the skills and experience they need to realise fulfilling careers. No matter what their background – nothing should stop our young people from succeeding.”
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| Scotland’s Large Business Graduates Most Aspire To Work For Scottish Water [left to right: Joy Lewis, Adopt an Intern CEO; Julia Stevenson, Strategy, Leadership and Resourcing Lead, Scottish Water] | Our 1000th Intern Marie Montondo, Young Academy Scotland [left to right: Annabelle Ewing MSP, Minister for Youth and Women’s Employment; Marie Montondo; Joy Lewis, Adopt an Intern CEO] | The Adopt an Intern Team with our 5th Birthday Cake by SocialBite [left to right: Eilidh Finlayson, Catherine Williamson, Joy Lewis, Tim Street, Vivien Yau, Heather Pomphrett] |
Photos by Ian D Fullerton
Joy Lewis, Chief Executive of Adopt an Intern, said:
“I congratulate all our winners this evening and all the individuals and organisations that made our shortlists. The judging process was exceptionally difficult. The high quality of entrants is a great barometer of the significant talent and energy that we have in our graduate population, and the businesses and organisations, large and small, which make up our economy.
“Scotland’s economy needs sustainable growth. Graduate internships provide a flexible approach to bringing talent and innovation into the workplace to support that growth.
“We look forward to achieving more over the next 5 years, building on the significant base we have today. Working together I am absolutely certain that we can.”
View all of our photos from the night here.
Were you at the #AdoptAnInternAwards? Share your stories and photos on Twitter @AdoptAnIntern – #AdoptAnInternAwards
