Winners
Apprentice of the Year Award

Will Burchell is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Nottinghamshire Deaf Society, a specialist charity originally formed in 1890. In September, Will is moving role to become Chief Executive Officer at The Bone Cancer Research Trust, a charity that has invested £5.7 million in the last five years on 73 outstanding research projects, all of which have a focus on improving the lives of patients with primary bone cancer.

Having worked in the Third Sector since graduating from the University of Nottingham almost 25 years ago, Will initially started his career as a Support Worker for people with learning disabilities. By the commencement of the CMI Apprenticeship, he had progressed to a director level role in a regional social care charity.

Will undertook the apprenticeship after reflecting on his training and development to this point, and recognising that it had largely been vocational, and reliant on his natural leadership style to achieve results. Will recognised that this inflexibility had the potential to limit his future impact and career progression, and as it was his ambition to become a charity CEO, recognised the needed to invest in his own development to become a more versatile and adaptable leader.

The CMI Apprenticeship has been fundamental in equipping Will with the skills and experience to take the next step in his career. Having experienced the benefits first-hand, he has become a huge advocate for the difference it can make, leading a number of friends and colleagues starting their own apprenticeship journey.

Ryan is Top Spin Tennis’s General Manager, having worked up the ranks since starting with the racket sport specialist business from the age of 15. Now 25, he’s responsible for the overall running of the multi-site business, specifically focussing on developing the organisations competitive advantage. To support this, he enrolled on to the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship and hasn’t looked back since.

Ryan has directly applied the new skills and knowledge to modernise and propel the business forward achieving record-breaking revenue, a scalable enterprise, and greater employee engagement. Managing a full-time senior management position alongside full-time education hasn’t come without its struggles. However, as the programme comes to a close Ryan is on course to achieve a first-class honours degree, and Chartered Manager status.

Having left school with few qualifications and no real career direction, it’s a complete privilege being shortlisted for this award. Ryan’s appetite to pursue a career in management has been fully ignited over the past five years, and the journey has only just begun…

I’m currently employed as a Trainee Inspector of Health and Safety with the Health and Safety Executive, inspecting workplaces and investigating accidents, helping employers to manage their risk and improve their employees’ health, a role I started in June 2023. I completed my Team Leader Apprenticeship whilst working as a Traincrew Analyst for Great Western Railway, a role I held for nine and a half years. In that role I produced executive and management analysis and reports in relation to traincrew, managed the four traincrew taxi accounts and worked with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to help improve the service that Great Western Railway provides to its customers.

My name is Amanda Isom and I am Regulatory Affairs Director at Bloom Regulatory Limited.

Bloom Regulatory is a London-based regulatory consultancy offering support in the beauty and wellness space with expertise in cosmetics, food supplements, candles and home fragrance. Our philosophy is to look beyond regulatory affairs and deliver solutions that make a difference through our unique and innovative approaches to regulatory strategy.

I joined Bloom Regulatory in 2020, just one year after the company was founded, doubling the total headcount at the time. One year later I started my apprenticeship and around the same time was promoted to Regulatory Affairs Director and I now lead a team of regulatory advisors whilst directing the CEO on strategic matters using the knowledge gained as part of my Operations Manager Apprenticeship.

I’ve always been someone with a strong dedication to my work. Completing the apprenticeship in parallel with balancing my operational and strategic tasks has been very challenging but I am very grateful to all of those who helped me along the way. The apprenticeship has enabled me to support, shape and lead my team, as well as develop my strategic leadership skills and contribute to the transformation and growth of the business. To be shortlisted for the “Apprentice of the Year” by CMI is a huge honour and privilege.

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