ORGANISATIONS and individuals who support young people's preparation for adult life and work at the annual Skilltree Awards.

Launched in 2012, the awards an initiative of local education charity, Basingstoke Consortium, which aims to publicly thank just some of the businesses and individuals who support its programmes each year.

Seven different awards were presented at the event held at the civic offices in London Road, on Tuesday, 7 November.

One of the winners was local recruitment agency, Wote Street People, won Student’s Choice at the recent Skills Tree Awards.

The employment agency was nominated for the award by a student of The Costello School who had completed a period of one week work experience at the popular job agency earlier this year, where she was given the opportunity to get a taste of a wide range of duties; from statistical and administrative work, to exhibition attendance and client visits.

Maxine Hart, operations director for Wote Street People said: “We’re beyond thrilled to have won the Student’s Choice Award. We’ve worked with Basingstoke Consortium and local students for over ten years because we wholeheartedly believe that by providing practical opportunities for young people to experience the world of work, we can inspire tomorrow's talent. Winning this award is both a testament to that belief and fuel for our enthusiasm to continue supporting young people.”

The other winners included, Ben Allnutt from the Vyne School winning the teacher’s award, The Hurst Community College winning the schools award and Ryan Goodridge from Testbourne Community School being crowned student of the year.

Richard Dorney-Savage, Basingstoke Consortium CEO, added: “The Awards were created to showcase the talent and commitment shown by the hundreds of individuals who volunteer or work with us every year to help young people learn more about the world of work.

“They also recognise some of the many inspiring young people who are involved in our projects which aim to help them prepare for their future careers. Our celebratory evening was a wonderful way to mark our achievements this year, coinciding with great news for the organisation – that the risk of closure due to financial pressures has been removed through a merger with a similar local charity.”