Celebrated commercial painting and decorating contractor Bagnalls – who are based in Cleckheaton and have office across Yorkshire - has enjoyed further awards success at the 22nd Apprenticeship and Skills Awards 2025 regional heats. The company has been named Yorkshire and the Humber winner of The Aptem Equality Diversity and Inclusion – Employer of the Year Award 2025.

A great accolade for Bagnalls, this award champions businesses that truly embody the spirit of social justice and enable social mobility. It recognises company efforts to support those who are disadvantaged or under-represented, providing them with a positive environment, within which they can achieve.

Apprenticeship accessibility is vital in this space, with recent ONS statistics highlighting a particular skills gap of 100,000+ vacancies in the construction, manufacturing and electricity industries in the first quarter of 2025 alone.

Of those apprentices starting their course with Bagnalls in 2024, 62% were aged 16-18. However, recent surveys reveal that a huge 60% of young people feel that entry-level jobs are not inclusive of junior-level skills and are designed to keep them out of the job market.

This is especially true for young women, who also face a lack of role models within the sector, with women making up just 4% of the painting and decorating industry. Bagnalls is making great strides in this area, with an impressive 29% of their 2024 apprentice intake identifying as female.

Bagnalls’ Leeds branch team is currently 22% women, a particularly significant split when compared to the industry average. This is largely due to young women joining the Bagnalls apprenticeship programme and choosing to remain with the company as their careers progress.

It’s clear that Bagnalls is leading the charge as more women begin to access apprenticeships within this male-dominated industry, but work still needs to be done in order to balance the gender split.

In 2024, almost 30% of Bagnalls apprentices also qualified for free school meals (FSM), highlighting an ambition amongst those from a low-income background to begin realising their earning potential straight away.

Again, this intake level outstrips the national average of pupils eligible for FSM, which currently stands at 25.7%, with many of those in receipt of FSM less likely to have secure employment upon leaving school. This highlights Bagnalls’ ability to increase accessibility and financial security, in terms of encouraging apprenticeship applications from a range of economic backgrounds.

Ensuring more of a focus on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and opening up opportunities for young people can only lead to further positive outcomes. Offering accessible apprenticeships that don’t require high-level knowledge or skills, are open to talent from all backgrounds and range of qualification levels, and allow apprentices to ‘earn while they learn’ is vital.

Bagnalls’ apprenticeship scheme does just this, offering inclusive opportunities and going on to produce highly skilled and successful apprentices, many of whom have won awards and gone on to fulfil high-value vacancies.

The company has plenty of experience in this area – having recently celebrated its 150th anniversary, Bagnalls has been training apprentices since 1877. The traditional painting and decorating apprenticeship available during the company’s earlier years has since evolved into a truly modern offering that incorporates IT skills, an understanding of the importance of sustainability and more.

The national painting and decorating contractor is also passionate about making the recruitment process as simple as possible for those applying for their first jobs. Many of the company’s apprentices are school leavers, stepping from the world of education, straight into their apprenticeship. This allows them to begin earning straight away, while also providing them with the training and support of an apprenticeship.

Bagnalls’ Group People Director, Ellie Jobes, had this to say about the win:

“This regional award is a fantastic honour for Bagnalls. EDI is a key focus for our business, so to have our efforts in this field recognised is brilliant."

“We’re thrilled that this recognition is linked to our apprenticeship scheme. Bagnalls is very proud of our Apprentice Academy in Doncaster and our ability to help train the next generation of talent. It’s great to see enthusiastic young talent come through our doors every year and push themselves to be the best they can be."

“A huge thank you to the Apprenticeship and Skills Awards regional judging panel for selecting Bagnalls and to Aptem for sponsoring this wonderful award.”

The national painting and decorating contractor hopes to continue championing apprentices via its award-winning apprenticeship scheme, ensuring that young talent is identified, nurtured and given the opportunity to succeed within the world of work.

Bagnalls will now progress to the final of the Apprenticeship and Skills Awards 2025 to compete for the national title in November.