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Bagnalls Crowned National Winner At Apprenticeship And Skills Awards


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National painting contractor, Bagnalls, has triumphed at the National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards 2025, winning The Aptem Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Award.


Having previously been named as the regional winner of this accolade for the Yorkshire and Humber area, Bagnalls has come out on top again, this time as the overall national winner.


The awards themselves, organised by the Department of Education, receive over 1,100 entries every single year. These submissions come from both companies and individuals across a range of sectors, including construction, IT, science, healthcare and many more.


This placed Bagnalls in direct competition with various household names, including supermarket giant, Tesco and construction heavyweight, Kier Group, both of which were Highly Commended within the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award category.


Designed to champion and reward the achievements of exceptionally talented and dedicated apprentices and T Level students, the awards also recognise the support and efforts of apprenticeship and T Level employers.


Stephen Bagnall, Group Managing Director at Bagnalls, commented:

“We are honoured to have been named National Winner of The Aptem Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award, especially as the National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards celebrates its 22nd anniversary!"

“EDI is incredibly important to us as a company, gifting us with a varied team that has the skills and experience to tackle whatever comes our way! Plus, with a significant number of our management team beginning their careers with us as apprentices, our apprenticeship scheme remains one of our most important and rewarding assets.”


Bagnalls’ Group People Director, Ellie Jobes, said of the win:

“This award is a wonderful recognition that all of our Bagnalls branches are working together to promote apprenticeships across a diverse audience."

“We have seen a particular impact in increasing number of female painters, as well as supporting those joining the industry from low-income backgrounds. I want to say a huge thank you to all of our colleagues who work tirelessly every day to make sure that our apprentices have a positive experience working for Bagnalls.”


Find out more about Bagnalls’ apprenticeship scheme and why the company is so passionate about supporting the next generation of young talent entering the painting and decorating industry.



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  • lindaandrews071
  • Jan 27
  • 2 min read

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Williams Racing is proud to confirm the 2025 line-up of the Williams Racing Driver Academy, with the stars of tomorrow all making a step up in their careers.


The Driver Academy has gone from strength-to-strength in recent years, adding several up-and-coming talents and seeing each driver further their development. Building on the Academy’s proud tradition of supporting young drivers, which most recently saw Franco Colapinto graduate to a full-time Formula 1 seat, the Academy will continue to offer best-in-class support to drivers through every stage of the motorsport ladder.


After his F1 weekend appearance in Abu Dhabi when he drove the FW46 in Free Practice for Williams, Luke Browning will make his full-time debut in FIA Formula 2 with Hitech GP for the 2025 season. This follows a strong 2024 campaign in Formula 3, achieving two Feature Race wins in Bahrain and Austria, then securing a seat in F2 for the final three races of the season, where he scored points on debut.


Lia Block will continue to represent the team for the 2025 F1 Academy season, racing with ART Grand Prix. Her debut year in open-wheel racing saw her make progress every time she hit the track, achieving fourth-place finishes in both races at the Singapore Grand Prix.


Alessandro Giusti will be stepping up to FIA Formula 3 with MP Motorsport following a hard-fought fourth-place finish in the Formula Regional European Championship last year. Achieving wins at Imola and Paul Ricard, plus five podium finishes, he will look to continue this positive trajectory into 2025.


Oleksandr Bondarev’s promising performances in karting and Formula 4 have earned him a seat with PREMA Racing in Italian and UAE F4 for the 2025 season. He has seen multiple successes in his career so far, being crowned CIK-FIA European Champion OKJ in 2023 and taking home the WSK Champions Cup in 2024, before stepping up to Italian F4 with PREMA Racing from Barcelona onwards.


Four of our Academy drivers will continue in karting for 2025. Sara Matsui, who completed her first season of OKNJ racing in Europe last year and made the transition to OKN, will compete in the OK class for 2025. New additions to the Academy, Dean Hoogendoorn and Will Green, will compete in the OKJ series, while Lucas Palacio will race in OKJ–N.


Sven Smeets, Sporting Director commented:

“We’re excited to confirm our Williams Racing Driver Academy drivers for this year, and proud to showcase the amount of talent and promise in each of our drivers. The Academy is central to our commitment to shaping the future of our sport, supporting them both on and off the track. We’re looking forward to following all the drivers’ progress throughout this 2025 season.”

Full Line-Up:


  • Luke Browning (UK, age 22) – F2, Hitech GP

  • Lia Block (USA, age 18) – F1 Academy, ART Grand Prix

  • Alessandro Giusti (France, age 18) – F3, MP Motorsport

  • Oleksandr Bondarev (Ukraine, age 15) – Italian and UAE F4, PREMA

  • Sara Matsui (Japan, age 14) – OK karting

  • Dean Hoogendoorn (Netherlands, age 12) – OKJ karting

  • Will Green (UK, age 11) – OKJ karting

  • Lucas Palacio (USA, age 11) – OKJ-N karting

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