June Apprentice of the Month
Ellie Whittingham
We are pleased to announce that the winner of the LDN Apprentice of the Month for June is Ellie Whittingham @ Jet2.
Nominated by LDN Skills Coach Steve Bond, Ellie is halfway through her Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Practitioner apprenticeship and has already made a significant impact, exceeded her targets, and championed a culture of sustainability among her colleagues by applying the knowledge she’s gained.
Check out all the awesome nominations we received in June, as well as Ellie’s winning nomination below.
Ellie’s Skills Coach:
Ellie has not been short of stupendous since joining her Apprenticeship. Her consistent approach to every aspect of the course has been truly inspiring, which is reflected in her role as a National Apprentice Ambassador, offering mentorship to other apprentices in the network. Her company, Jet2, has nominated Ellie for the National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards 2025, which recognises her achievements over the past year. These include building their charity partnership programme and organising an event with Planet Patrol in April, which resulted in colleagues collecting over 6,000 pieces of litter (1,000 over target). Ellie has also effectively built and embedded a colleague culture of sustainability as well as delivered social value projects to a high standard and exceeding targets. Ellie represents her company next week at The House of Lords, to recognise and celebrate her accomplishments as a member of the apprenticeship network during National Apprenticeship Week. Above all this, she still remains humble and grounded.
Ellie’s Line Manager:
How have they improved/impacted the business and the team since they started their apprenticeship?
Ellie has been instrumental in developing our charity partner programme, working with five charities and organising a calendar of events to raise money for their good causes. Since the launch of the initiative, Ellie has helped raise over £1.4m for our partners and has shown great leadership in managing the relationship with our key account managers. Ellie has also made huge improvements to our Sustainability Champions Network, fostering a culture of sustainability all across the company. Since joining Jet2, Ellie has increased colleague membership of the network from 70 to over 130 colleagues and now runs regular meetings where colleagues can learn more about the company’s sustainability activities. Colleagues have acknowledged the improved presence of sustainability across the organisation and that has all been down to Ellie’s excellent communication and relationship-building skills.
What three words best describe them?
Organised - Ellie could teach me a few things about managing her work so effectively and to a consistent high standard! She always has a plan of action, with clear time scales and deliverables and meets any deadline set.
Driven – In addition to her role, she goes above and beyond as a member of the Yorkshire and Humber Apprenticeship Network, volunteering her time to mentor other apprentices and contributing to company events such as our week-long National Apprenticeship Week celebration.
Enthusiastic – Ellie was fairly new to sustainability when she joined the team however, her passion for the topic and curiosity to learn more really shines through. She asks questions and takes the initiative to learn more about the subject, which will set her up for a fantastic career ahead!
An example of an outstanding piece of work, project or task they have worked on.
In collaboration with our partner, Planet Patrol, Ellie organised ‘The Big Jet2 Clean Up’ – a litter picking initiative that challenged colleagues to collect and log over 5,000 pieces of litter using the Planet Patrol App. The event was a huge success and colleagues did an incredible job, beating the target, collecting over 6,000 pieces! Colleagues continue to organise their own beach cleans in the resort, demonstrating the impact Ellie has made not only in the UK but across our holiday destinations. The data collected on the Planet Patrol app is used to support understanding of the plastic pollution issue, demonstrating Ellie’s leadership in tackling global environmental challenges.
Here’s what was said about the other brilliant nominees:
Karen Linaker @ Wiltshire Council
Karen is hard-working and dedicated. She has a remarkable thirst for knowledge and reflects on learning to strengthen best practice within her team and beyond. Karen stays on top of her training plan, and goes the extra mile with evidence pieces, incorporating video clips to bring these to life, and capture impact. Karen's journal entries show strong links to the KSBs and highlight the wide-scale impact being created. Karen engages in all Masterclasses and creates a safe space for others to get involved and share ideas. It would be fantastic for Karen to be recognised and appreciated through the 'Apprentice of the Month' award!
Evie Bennett @ Amazon
Evie has shown excellent progress as she approaches her End-Point Assessment (EPA). She has demonstrated a strong understanding of the EPA process, including both assessment methods and supporting documentation. Her current focus is on completing her final portfolio pieces and remaining training plan activities, while also developing her EPA project report. Evie’s dedication, organisation, and proactive attitude are clear indicators of her commitment to success. She continues to be a positive influence and a great example to her peers. I am proud to nominate Evie for Apprentice of the Month—she truly deserves the recognition!
Ciara Wade @ Bloomsbury
Ciara has jumped into her role at Bloomsbury with huge enthusiasm and determination, and is approaching apprenticeship tasks with equal vigour. Line manager Maddie is already scoring Ciara a 9/10 for seamlessly taking on more workload, and all to a high standard. She is proving herself efficient and capable. Her role is a busy and complicated one, where there is lots to take on board from a standing start, and Ciara has learnt quickly and cheerfully from feedback when she inevitably didn’t get everything right first time. She has delivered portfolio pieces consistently from the start, showing focus and energy.
Manisha Sharma @ Chelsea & Westminster NHS Trust
Manisha has successfully delivered her portfolio alongside an increased workload from a recent LMS implementation, in addition to digital learning design projects. She has managed to educate, empathise and manage stakeholders to deliver a range of innovative projects including digital escape rooms, medicines management and diabetes. Learners have provided great feedback, recommending the experiences and asking for more.. She is becoming the go-to person for digital learning design queries in a very short space of time. She cheerfully adapts to whatever challenges come her way and always helps other apprentices if they have queries, informed by her wealth of experience.
Folashade Bonisehi @ Royal Borough of Greenwich Council
I would like to nominate Shade for her exceptional dedication to growth and learning throughout the apprenticeship so far. She has consistently gone above and beyond her role, tackling each piece of evidence with determination. She has stepped outside of her comfort zone and shown a willingness to take on new challenges and learn from experiences outside of her usual remit. She has a love for learning, which is refreshing and inspirational and she is always brave enough to ask questions if she’s ever unsure.