Celebrating and recognising our promoted trainees at our special awards event
On Wednesday, 9 April 2025, our Early Careers team — Premila Bhudia, Saskia Wren, Dayo Raji, Samantha Gibbs, and Marilyn Munns, led by Alison Reid — hosted the trainee celebration event at the Leonardo Hotel in Milton Keynes.
The first of its kind, the inaugural awards show was the perfect opportunity for us to showcase our passion for nurturing and championing talent and our commitment to recognising potential, investing in trainees’ development and creating a career pathway for them.
The event was a great way for over 60 newly promoted trainees across multiple areas of our business (Construction, Property Services, Residential, Development and SES), who joined the programme in 2021 and 2022, to network, mingle and celebrate a major milestone in their careers.
Alongside trainees, line managers, HR Business Partners, the Inclusion & Diversity team, and senior leadership were present, and there was plenty of excitement in the room!
An inspirational line up
The day kicked off with a welcome speech from Alison Reid, Early Careers Manager. Katy Murray, external speaker, author and coach, launched icebreaker activities encouraging interaction with attendees and connection in deep conversations, reflecting on career journeys, lessons learned and the importance of setting intentions for the future.
Cressida Curtis, Head of Sustainability, presented her opening address by celebrating the programme and the collective achievements of everyone. Plus, she shared her reflections on her earlier career, overcoming obstacles and remaining resilient as she moved up the ladder. She focused on the importance of the three Cs in the workplace: communication, culture and courage, referencing our purpose: ‘Reimagining places for people to thrive.’ The session wrapped up with a lively Q&A, where trainees asked Cressida insightful questions and sought valuable career advice.
Following the awards presentation, everyone was captivated by motivational speaker and author Richard McCann, who shared his inspirational and compelling life story. He reinforced the importance of hope, self-belief, resilience, getting out of your comfort zone and continuous, never-ending improvement in the world of work and in life.
Trainee celebration event awards presentation
The main highlight of the day was the exciting awards presentation, where outstanding contributions were recognised across six key categories.
Best Technical Manual
The trainee programme is supported by a well-structured and designed Technical Manual. These manuals are the cornerstone of creating mechanical capability and subject matter knowledge.
This award celebrates individuals who have consistently demonstrated ownership of their technical progression, actively participated in progress reviews and submitted quality evidence in a timely manner.
Winner: Sam Bentham, Assistant Engineer, SES – Yorkshire
Nominees: Alex Gordon, Byron Nhira and Fran Beddall
Best Placement Report
This award recognises trainees who made a valuable contribution to their placement activity and demonstrated positive behaviours, future-focused thinking, and a commitment to producing innovative placement reports.
Winner: Alex Gordon, Section Manager, Construction – London
Nominees: Byron Nhira and Sofija Standing
Behavioural Excellence
Nominees demonstrated honesty, work integrity and respect for all those they work with, which reflects well on themselves, as well as our core values.
Winners: Michael Kiely (Assistant Surveyor, Construction – London) and Lauren McVeigh (Assistant Design Manager, Residential – London)
Nominees: Cameron Hopkins, Chloe Cadman and Georgina Soliman Basso
Best Trainee to Trainee Allyship
This award recognises those who have consistently and actively supported each other throughout the trainee programme and beyond.
Nominees demonstrated their ability to advocate, guide, and act as inclusive role models whilst also sharing their own knowledge to develop others. They exemplify the values that foster thriving communities — open-mindedness, compassion, and unwavering support.
Winner: Golden Iworie (Assistant Planner, Residential – South)
Nominees: Hannah Thackray and Lauren McVeigh
Best Social Value Project
This award celebrates those who have demonstrated creativity, out-of-the-box thinking, problem-solving and working collaboratively as a team.
These individuals and teams didn’t just respond to the project — they explored opportunities for positive outcomes for others. They conducted thorough research and brought fresh thinking, new ideas, creative content, podcasts, and partnership initiatives. Their end-of-project presentations demonstrated inclusive thinking, community benefit, and business impact with a social purpose.
Winners: Alex Gordon (Section Manager, Construction – London) and Michael Kiely (Assistant Surveyor, Construction – London)
Nominees: Riya Mistry, Sofija Standing, Kiran Farooq, Franklin Macarthur, Adam McGurrell, Eddie Patrick, Josh Jefferies and Maddie Ross
Trainee Ambassador
The Social Media Influencer & Ambassador Award recognises individuals who have used online and social media platforms to share positive experiences and insights, promote company brand awareness, be a positive role model and inspire others through their development journey.
Winners: Carys Edmonds (Section Manager Residential – Wales) and Chloe Fall (Assistant Site Manager, Wates Property Services – North West London)
Nominees: Hannah Thackray and Sofija Standing
To round up the day, all trainees were awarded a certificate of achievement to congratulate them for their hard work on the programme and to commemorate their efforts.
Summary: Shining a spotlight on excellence and progression
Every promoted trainee, nominee and winner exemplifies our values, purpose and passion, and we are incredibly proud of our programme. Best of all, this pioneering event successfully recognised our talented trainees and fostered meaningful conversations and insights that will help propel trainees forward, reach their potential and embody our purpose.
A huge congratulations to all our promoted trainees! We wish you continued success with us and an exciting trajectory ahead.
Testimonials from our promoted trainees
[The trainee programme is a] great learning experience. You can immerse yourself in it, and it’s eye-opening.
“I chose Wates because of the company culture, ethos and values. If you want to immerse yourself and learn, the scheme is amazing. When you put in the work, you receive acknowledgement, and the scheme is a great way to learn about the industry.
“I loved the event, and it gives a sense of purpose to the programme. It’s nice to be recognised for your achievements.”
Golden Iworie
Assistant Planner, Residential – South
I chose Wates because of the organisation’s strong reputation in the industry and clear development pathway and support for trainees. The trainee programme was rewarding, supportive and enriching. The event was full of great networking opportunities, insightful and inspiring.”
Lydia Bowyer
Assistant Surveyor, SES – North West
I chose Wates because of the ethos that Wates works by in everything we do, and the trainee programme was varied, educational and foundational.
“It was a good event to reflect on how far we have come within the past 2 years and think about what is to come.”
Riya Mistry
Assistant Design Manager, Construction Major Projects
A reflective, informative event, and well organised.”
Carys Edmonds
Section Manager, Residential – Wales
The event left me feeling inspired and confident in myself and my cohort as we complete the trainee scheme.”
Sofija Standing
Assistant Cost Planner, Residential – Central
The celebration event was thoughtfully organised, and I truly enjoyed the chance to reconnect with colleagues from the same cohort.
“It was great to see everyone’s progress, especially as we represent the future of Wates. I was especially inspired by the motivational speaker’s presentation, which encouraged me to have a positive mindset and believe that anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”
Holly Rush
Assistant Land and Planning Specialist, Developments
Photography: fivesixphotography
Share
Register your interest
Be the first to apply when our early career vacancies are available.