UCEM’s Built Environment Apprenticeship Awards 2025
Posted on: 17 February, 2025
Thursday 13 February was a highlight of the UCEM calendar as apprentices, employers and university staff gathered for the fourth annual UCEM Built Environment Apprenticeship Awards.
Held during National Apprenticeship Week, these awards celebrate the achievements of UCEM’s hardworking apprentices, their supportive employers, and the institution’s own dedicated staff. The awards are also an opportunity to fly the flag for apprenticeships in the built environment more generally.
Arrival and networking
Current and past generations of UCEM apprentices and alumni started to arrive at The Orangery, No. 11 Cavendish Square, London for the shortlisters’ reception at 6.30pm, where many of them remarked on how lovely it was to meet their virtual classmates in person.
“It’s been a really nice evening, and so lovely to meet other apprentices at the university. Thank you to everyone who nominated me, I greatly appreciate it.”
– Alice Taylor, Winner – Apprentice of the Year (Undergraduate)
Opening speech
UCEM Vice Chancellor, Ashley Wheaton, opened the proceedings at 7pm. He spoke of the university’s progress in the ten years since it offered its first surveying apprenticeship to 125 apprentices.
“We are now at 2,600 apprentices across eight programmes, and our clients include all of the top ten property firms in the UK. According to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, we deliver over half of the surveying apprenticeships in England, making us bigger (and arguably better) than all the other providers put together.”
Ashley spoke of the Government’s plans to build 1.5 million new homes, along with new reservoirs, new runways and the proposed Oxford-Cambridge rail line.
“There is an enormous amount for us all to do to make sure that the built environment as an industry can deliver everything the Government would like to see. We need to continue to supply a pipeline of future thinkers and do-ers … and to do that we need fresh faces, new ideas and different ways of thinking. I’m certain our apprentices offer all of these attributes in spades. That’s why honouring our brightest and best apprentices during National Apprenticeship Week feels like the perfect way to highlight their essential contributions.”
Before concluding his opening speech, Ashley introduced Peter McCrea as the new Chair of UCEM’s Board of Trustees: a position Peter had begun just two weeks earlier.
Although new to the role of Chair, Peter is a familiar face at UCEM, having been made an honorary fellow of the university in 2020, and a trustee since 2024.
Panel discussion
The next item on the agenda was an apprenticeship panel discussion chaired by Ashley. Joining him on stage were Mark Winsor from Lambert Smith Hampton, Jo German from Cambridgeshire County Council, and Mary-Felicia Gomez from CBRE.
The panelists spoke about what inspired them to undertake or support apprenticeships. For Mary-Felicia, a third-year real estate apprentice, this meant documenting her journey for her 15,000 followers on TikTok. Mary-Felicia explained that this was a channel where she could reach young people and make them aware of apprenticeship opportunities in the built environment.
Mark is “not a surveyor” but “helps other people become surveyors” in his learning and development role. He is involved in a range of early careers programmes, but sees apprenticeships as “an essential part of the whole model”. He wants to see greater awareness amongst sixth-form students in particular of the options available:
“We can’t get to those schools quickly enough to tell them about this profession that pays well and offers a proper career path. I’ve seen apprentices we hired five years ago go on to pass their APCs and start developing brilliant careers.”
Jo started her career in graphic design, and recently graduated from her Master’s apprenticeship in construction management. She has worked at the council for 15 years, and approached her employer about the apprenticeship because she’d “seen the difference we make for children and young people both through the design of buildings and ensuring buildings are well-maintained.” Jo wanted to learn more about construction to be of greater service to the schools in her community:
“I wanted to be able to say to some of the headteachers, ‘actually the reason why your roof is leaking is the sarking felt and the battens’ and all those things that colleagues knew so much about and I didn’t feel I knew anything about.”
Awards presentation
Ashley handed over to Peter to present the awards and congratulate the winners over the following categories:
Employer Representatives
Large Company
- Francesca Andrews, CBRE
SME
- Philippa Brown, Exigere
Public Sector
- Angie Leggett, Valuation Office Agency
Apprentice of the Year – Undergraduate
- Alice Taylor, Ward Williams
- Kadra Abdi, CBRE
Apprentice of the Year – Postgraduate
- Jennifer Willis, Valuation Office Agency
Rising Star
- Christopher Allen, Ministry of Defence
UCEM Staff Member
- Meryl Bonser, Director of Business Development
Academic Excellence
Undergraduate
- Millie Lockyer, AECOM
Postgraduate
- John Bell
Vice Chancellor’s Choice
- Dontae Francois, Savills
Many congratulations to all the deserving winners!
Here’s what some of them had to say:
“I’m very surprised but very grateful. I didn’t know I’d received the highest marks until I opened the email a couple of weeks ago. It’s been lots of late nights and lots of hours put in, but it’s all been worth it.”
– Millie Lockyer, Winner – Academic Excellence (Undergraduate)
“I’ve been saying to everyone it’s not going to be me, so I’m a bit shellshocked! It’s been such a lovely evening: The Orangery is a gorgeous venue, and it’s really good for the apprentices who normally just see each other virtually to be able to get together in person.”
– Francesca Andrews, Winner – Employer Representative (Large Company)
“I’m over the moon. I honestly thought I was past the age of being a rising star in anything! So to get this award really does mean a lot.”
– Christopher Allen, Winner – Rising Star
“I feel amazing. I didn’t expect to win but it’s so rewarding. I feel like I haven’t won just for me, but also for those who look like me. Shout out to everyone who supported me – thank you so much.”
– Kadra Abdi, Winner – Apprentice of the Year (Undergraduate)
