AN EDUCATION charity honoured people for their time and commitment to support young people in the borough at an annual awards ceremony.

The Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane, Councillor Anne Court, hosted the Skillstree Awards in the Council Chambers, which celebrate businesses, schools, colleges and other partners that invest in projects to support young people’s preparation for adult life and work.

Launched in 2012, the Skillstree Awards is an initiative of education charity Basingstoke Consortium.

The award categories and winners were:

• Student of the Year, Alexis Parish, The Vyne Community School

• Business Ambassador Award, Rob Cable and Jason Barnes, Basingstoke Fire Station

• Teacher’s Award, Lis Hall, The Costello School

• School’s Award, Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School

• Business involved in Work Experience, BCoT

• Business Supporting Education, Costa

• Basingstoke Consortium Chairman’s Award, Maxine Hart, Wote Street People

The evening was compered by BBC South Today presenter, David Allard, who was joined by Skillstree sponsors to present awards to the worthy winners.

As well as the awards presentation, the event celebrated the fourth year of the Skillstree initiative – which aims to work with businesses to increase the employability skills, aspirations and confidence of young people in the borough. Since its launch, the programme has supported nearly 4,000 local young people, thanks to the support of sponsors including AWE, Unum and AXA Wealth.

Cllr Court said: "I am really pleased to have hosted this event and would like to thank Basingstoke Consortium for organising this and the Skillstree sponsors for getting involved in preparing our young people for their adult lives. Well done to the winners – all exceptional role models in their fields.”

Sue Riley, Basingstoke Consortium CEO, added: “The awards were created to showcase the incredible talent of 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. Our celebratory evening was a wonderful way to mark our achievements this year.”

Skillstree’s platinum supporter for 2015 was AWE, and it has agreed to extend its support into 2016.

Philippa Kent, community engagement manager at AWE, said: “Through its work with Basingstoke Consortium AWE has developed a strong relationship with local schools and colleges, and been able to extend its reach to support more students and teachers.

"With a particular focus on programmes designed to raise the profile of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), AWE dedicates significant staff time to help young people learn about the practical business applications of these important subjects.”

Skillstree is now open for sponsors for 2016. By participating, businesses are helping to raise the standards of tomorrow’s workforce as well as raising their own profile, providing valuable employee development opportunities, building stronger teamwork and enhancing staff communication skills.

Businesses do this by sponsoring or supporting young people through practical employability workshops, challenges, talks, conferences and visits.