Profiting through Skills - Excellence in Cumbria Awards
More than 300 guests gathered at Rheged on the evening of Thursday 14th May to celebrate the Profiting through Skills – Excellence in Cumbria Awards. These awards celebrate the success of those who invest their time, money and effort in learning and development, both individuals and businesses – benefiting themselves and the success of the Cumbrian economy – so that we’re all Profiting through Skills.
Drinks reception Guests enjoy a gala dinner
The evening commenced with a drinks reception sponsored by Carlisle College. After a brief introduction from our compere Robbie Dee, local business success Malcolm Wilson, Managing Director of M-Sport Ltd took to the stage. Malcolm is extremely proud of his Cumbrian roots and recognises that the success M-Sport have enjoyed over recent years is thanks to the hard work and dedication of the whole M-Sport team. As a company M-Sport invest a lot of time and money in apprentices, training them to the highest level and providing opportunities once the apprenticeship is complete.
Aerialist act Fire eater
Following a four course gala dinner, guests were wowed by fire eating, juggling and an aerialist act.
Richard Farleigh
Born in Kyabram, Victoria, Australia, our guest speaker Richard Farleigh of Dragon’s Den fame spoke about his tough upbringing, as the son of an alcoholic sheep shearer with a large family of 11 children. At the age of three, Richard was sent to a foster home and was described as ‘backward’ by one of his early teachers. During his speech Richard shared details of businesses he’s invested in, including previous Dragon’s Den entrepreneur Levi Roots and his Reggae Reggae sauce – after investing along with fellow Dragon Peter Jones, Richard sold his stake in the business for 10 times more than his original investment. Not all of Richard’s investments have generated such good returns but that doesn’t stop him looking for new investment opportunities.
David McNerney, Executive Director – Capability of Nuclear Management Partners / Sellafield Ltd introduced the awards ceremony before Robbie Dee took over proceedings.
Congratulations to all our winners and we must also congratulate our finalists – they are all still winners.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors again for their generous support, headline sponsors were Cumbria County Council, Invest in Cumbria, LSC, Sellafield Ltd and UCLan.
John Grainger, Managing Director of Invest in Cumbria said of the event, “Invest in Cumbria was again pleased to be a headline sponsor of the Excellence in Cumbria Awards. To see so many people nominated for recognition shows the calibre of employee that we have in Cumbria, and as important how our employers recognise such talent.”
Rob Johnston, Chief Executive of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce praised the successful event, “This was a great celebration of both businesses and individuals within the county, showcasing the best of Cumbria. With such a wide range of businesses represented, we congratulate both winners and finalists, as well as the great entries we received which unfortunately we weren’t able to shortlist. Everyone should be proud of their achievements, it was great to hear the cheering and encouragement given to the apprentices, those who didn’t win weren’t too disappointed, they enjoyed the evening regardless. We’re pleased to be able to organise and host this prestigious awards evening and we’re looking forward to even more support next year.”
