Employers across the UK have been recognised by the government for their outstanding commitment to apprenticeships.

Providers for the early years sector have been named within the top ten spots.

Tops Day Nurseries, a leading provider of high-quality childcare and early education took 9th place. As well as it being a huge standalone achievement for this year it is also an improvement from last year when they ranked 12th.

Sam King, chief executive of Tops Day Nurseries and Aspire Training Team, said:

“I am incredibly proud of Tops achievement in attaining the 9th place this year in the apprenticeship employer of the year awards. What an amazing success it is to be ranked so highly alongside some huge organisations. Aspire plays a huge role in supporting and teaching our Tops apprentices and it is also a real tribute to the colleagues who support and mentor our apprentices, as well as our dedicated apprentices themselves. Even though coming 12th last year was a huge achievement, we have managed to better it. Congratulations Tops and Aspire”.

Rosedene Nurseries achieved 5th place across the top 5 SME apprenticeship employers.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:

“Congratulations to all the employers across the country which have been recognised for their brilliant apprenticeship programmes.

“Apprenticeships provide opportunities for people from all walks and the employers ranked in this list are crucial to our plans in supporting people to get better jobs and grow the economy.

“With the launch of Skills England, we will bring together businesses with trade unions, mayors and training providers to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs.”