The accolade recognises Oxfordshire Advanced Skills’ (OAS) efforts to improve the wellbeing of its learners, training staff and industry partners by making positive changes throughout the training centre and beyond.

Marcus Hills, wellbeing partnerships manager at Oxfordshire Mind, said their Supporter Awards showcased the most remarkable achievements of the charity’s supporters each year.

“Oxfordshire Mind likes to celebrate the supporters who we feel have gone above and beyond for the charity each year. OAS’s ongoing commitment to positive change and improvement to their wellbeing strategy has been heartening over the past 12 months, and we think it’s a proper benchmark for how all businesses across the counties can be working more proactively,” he said.

MTC Training operations manager, Emma Johnstone, (centre) receiving the award on behalf of OAS from Oxfordshire Mind’s chairman of the board, Nick Welch (left) and CEO Dan Knowles (right)

OAS is a partnership between the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) and the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), run by future skills specialist MTC Training. The state-of-the-art facility aims to empower local and national technology businesses to thrive by delivering the crucial engineering skills industry needs to succeed, now and in the future.

The training centre’s commitment to wellbeing is part of a broader initiative to make apprenticeships more inclusive. OAS’s Access and Awareness project is a partnership between UKAEA, MTC Training and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It aims to reach and support a more diverse range of learners, raising awareness and increasing access to the benefits of apprenticeships across under-represented groups.

Emma Johnstone, operations manager at MTC Training, said receiving the award was a proud moment for the OAS team.

“The wellbeing of our learners and teams is our top priority, and we have worked really hard over the past couple of years to make practical improvements that really deliver tangible results. We’re thrilled that our efforts have been acknowledged by such a prestigious charity. It’s a fantastic endorsement that will spur us on as we continue to make even more positive changes.

“We want OAS to be the place aspiring apprentices choose to kick-start their engineering careers regardless of their socio-economic background, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, religious views, neurodiversity, disability, mental health, or any other trait or characteristic that might make someone feel ‘different’ somewhere else. All that matters to us is that people are keen to learn and passionate about engineering. We can support them with the rest.”

Oxfordshire Mind announced the Supporter Awards winners at the charity’s annual public meeting at The Kings Centre in Oxford.