Kieran Page, an apprentice designer at Ipswich-based White Space, has beaten off competition from hundreds of entrants to be shortlisted for the Central Eastern final of the National Apprenticeship Awards 2014.

Kieran has been shortlisted in the Advanced Level Apprentice of the Year category for his work at the creative agency, where he currently works as an apprentice designer.

The National Apprenticeship Awards, now in their 11th year, celebrate the achievements of the country’s most outstanding apprentices and apprenticeship employers. The winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held by the National Apprenticeship Service at the Cambridge Belfry Hotel, Cambourne, on September 4.

Sue Husband, executive director, apprenticeships and delivery at the skills funding agency, said: “The National Apprenticeship Awards recognise the best of the best and are an excellent opportunity for individuals and employers to gain the credit they richly deserve for investing in their own futures.”

Kieran said: “I’m really pleased to have been shortlisted for the regional Apprenticeship of the Year Awards. I’m very passionate about the industry that I feel very lucky to work in, so to be recognised for that is great. Since starting at White Space, I’ve been lucky enough to get involved in a number of varied client projects, as well as working on interior graphics for the White Space office.”

White Space creative director Pete Seymour said: “The creative industry never stands still and it will always be inspired by talented young people, just like Kieran. At White Space we’ve really seen the benefit of investing in youth. I’ve really enjoyed mentoring Kieran as he combines naturally creative flair with a great attitude to learning. He should be proud of his efforts so far in his short career and really does deserve this recognition.”

The Central Eastern winners will go through to a national judging stage and the highest scoring apprenticeship employer entries nationally will feature in the acclaimed England’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers list, produced by the National Apprenticeship Service in partnership with City & Guilds.

The national winners will be revealed at a ceremony at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on November 13.

: : Bury St Edmunds-based financial services firm Beckett Investment Management Group has recruited an apprentice to join its private clients team.

Scott Wright, 21, started his apprenticeship in July and will be learning a variety of different skills.

“This is a great opportunity to establish a career in financial services and gain the training and support I need,” said Scott.

The apprenticeship will result in a Level 3 NVQ in Business and Administration in conjunction with West Suffolk College.

“We’re delighted to have a smart and enthusiastic person like Scott strengthen our team,” said Lesley Delaney, administration manager at Beckett. “He has very strong analytical skills and has already taken up a key role supporting our administrators and advisers.”

: : Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has strengthened its support to small and medium-sized businesses in the East of England with the appointment of specialist senior trading business development director Paul Shadbolt.

Paul will be joining a team of 13 new senior development directors, who will be working with introducers across the UK, such as local accountants and financial advisors, to reach out to businesses that may be finding it difficult to access finance or are unaware of the different funding packages available to them.

The team will also be working closely with the 72 business development directors currently operating across the UK, but will specialise in engaging with businesses that have a turnover of £10million or above to ensure that companies are receiving the specialist guidance and advice needed to capitalise on current growth opportunities.

Paul said: “The new team will play an important role in building relationships within local communities across the UK, helping us to speak to companies that may be struggling to find a funding package that suits their specific business needs.”

The new trading business development directors will have a specialist accreditation in manufacturing to help them fully understand manufacturing customers’ needs and provide specially tailored support.

: : East Anglian recruitment firm polkadotfrog has expanded with the appointment of Gemma Algar as temporary administrator.

Gemma, who will be based at the Ipswich office, will support the growth of the firm’s new temporary division, which launched in May 2014.

She will be handling the firm’s temporary portfolio of clients and dealing with candidates on all aspects of job-seeking from initial registration to placement.

Gemma has a customer service background and is an excellent relationship builder, enabling her to support candidates and clients to ensure the perfect match.

Emma Cotton, director of polkadotfrog in Ipswich said: “With business requirements changing so rapidly, we’ve strengthened our temporary offering in order to deal with the increase in temporary candidates. Gemma’s hands-on approach and ‘can do’ attitude will make her a perfect fit in this expanding part of the business.”

: : A former editor of the BBC Ten O’Clock News has joined the University of Essex as its founding professor of journalism.

Jonathan Baker, who left the BBC earlier this year after more than 30 years in news, is the university’s first founding professor in a new curriculum area for more than 20 years.

Mr Baker has held a number of senior positions across BBC television, radio and newsgathering, including executive editor radio news, world news editor and head of newsgathering. He was editor of the Nine O’Clock News when it moved to its present, later, slot. Between 2010 and 2013 he was head of the BBC College of Journalism, responsible for delivering all forms of journalism training to more than 8,000 BBC journalists in the UK and overseas.

At Essex, he will be responsible for developing an innovative curriculum for undergraduate and postgraduate courses, and seeking accreditation from the National Council for the Training of Journalists and the Broadcast Journalism Training Council. The degree is being offered by the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies with the first students due to register in autumn 2015.

Jonathan Baker said: “I am delighted and honoured to be asked to establish the university’s first degree programme in journalism. In spite of the difficult economic climate, media organisations still want energetic and inquiring graduates with a strong grip on the practical and theoretical aspects of the job.

“We’ll be looking for students who are discriminating, sceptical and independent of mind, with a gift for expressing themselves and a desire to communicate, regardless of what they have studied at A Level.

“The course will cover all the basic essentials of good journalism, with students producing and publishing real stories almost from day one. In addition to significant investment by the university in staff and facilities dedicated to journalism, our students will also be able to take advantage of connections in other university departments – such as sociology, government and economics – to broaden their overall knowledge and understanding of the world they will be reporting as qualified journalists.”

Professor Lorna Fox-O’Mahony, executive dean (humanities) said: “We are excited to add journalism to our portfolio, and delighted that Jonathan is joining us to lead the programme. He has a long and distinguished record in journalism.

“A newly-created course in journalism will be well placed to reflect the emergence of social media and new platforms, which are changing the ways in which we all get our news.”