HIT Heroes Award Winners 2022


We are thrilled to announce the winners of the HIT Heroes Awards – and would like to congratulate each and every one on their amazing success! The judges were bowled over by the standard of this year’s entries and the huge benefits each winner brought to their sectors as a result of their apprenticeship.

Benefits to business

These included an ability to bring new ideas to the workplace, take on leadership roles and mentor junior team members.

Skills learned that particularly impressed judges included event management to encourage repeat business, winning nationally recognised craft beer awards and stepping up as sole manager of a new site. These are just a few of the stories that go to show the fantastic career progression opportunities for apprentices.

As you may have seen, the names of the winners and stories of their outstanding contributions to industry were revealed during National Apprenticeship Week to highlight the important role that apprenticeships play within the hospitality and retail sectors.

“While we know the incredible life-changing impact of apprenticeships on individuals of all ages and walks of life, we are always proud to take this opportunity to celebrate the fantastic work of our apprentices and their employers in our HIT Heroes Awards,” says HIT Training Managing Director Jill Whittaker.

“Once again, despite the current labour market challenges these sectors face, we have not been disappointed by the immense talent on show within hospitality and retail! We would like to congratulate every one of our winners on their huge success.”

The HIT Heroes Awards aims to recognise the amazing work of both apprentices and apprenticeship employers across the country and celebrate the individual drive and development of apprentices to become future hospitality and retail leaders.

We will be highlighting individual stories of all our winners over coming weeks – watch this space – and we will announce our overall apprentice and employer of the year winners on Wednesday 31st May.

HIT Heroes Award Winners 2022

Here is a full list of our incredible winners for 2022:

APPRENTICES:

Zoe Clack – Hospitality Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by Institute of Hospitality

Jodie Plummer – Chef Apprentice of the Year

Betty Otton – Leadership Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by Get My First Job

Joe Cullin – Extra Mile Apprentice of the Year – Sponsored by Professional Assessment Ltd

Matthew Lacey – Retail Apprentice of the Year

APPRENTICESHIP EMPLOYERS:

Yorebridge House – Small to Medium Employer of the Year – Sponsored by British Institute of Innkeeping

Compass Group UK & Ireland – Large Employer of the Year – Sponsored by Hospitality Jobs UK

JoJo Maman Bebe – Best Community Outreach Programme – Sponsored by Professional Assessment Ltd

To read the full story of each category winner, go to: hitheroes.co.uk/hall-of-fame


Rising stars named in prestigious Young National Chef of the Year semi-final line-up

HIT Training Launches Suite of Training Courses and Workshops to Upskill Hospitality Teams

Mental Health Awareness Week – Dealing with Anxiety

HIT Training Ltd Embarks on the Journey to Net Zero with Planet Mark Certification

What is the Apprenticeship Levy?

New National Chef of the Year is unveiled in front of industry elite

Chopping Boards to Boardrooms: The Benefits of Apprenticeships at Any Career Stage

UnTapped 2025 is here, and our Super Seven finalists are thirsty for success!

Future-Proof Your Business and Save Big: National Insurance Savings for Employers of Apprentices Under 25

Omicron and COVID Plan B Update

All Change – It’s Time to Reserve Your Apprenticeship Funding!

HIT Training launches intelligent apprenticeship recruitment service for hospitality and retail, in partnership with urfuture

Brewer Apprenticeship Graduation Event: Celebrating Brewing Talent and Achievement

Protecting the Future of the Sector: Hospitality Businesses Pledge to Fund Apprenticeships Outside Their Organisation

Championing Change in Functional Skills

Introducing the Executive Development Network (EDN)

We Are Now a Planet Mark Certified Business

HIT Training Launches Free Workshops to Help Close the Chef Skills Gap in the Capital

What Are Flexible Apprenticeships?

Supporting Employers During the Economic Recovery

HIT Heroes Winners Unveiled in Celebration Event

Medals All Round for our Fired Up Four!

The Real Barrier to Exceptional Hospitality Isn’t What You Think

Access Global Opportunities for Your Apprentices

HIT Celebrates Hospitality Day

HIT’s Executive Chair Jill Whittaker OBE wins award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Industry’

There is a New Star in the Hospitality Industry

HIT partners with Hospitality Jobs UK to form new recruitment partnership

There’s No Age Limit to Invaluable Training

Stepping Up – It’s Time to Earn your Stripes

Flavour of Success at The Restaurant Show

HIT Training welcomes Government’s Fully Funded Apprenticeship Initiative for Small Businesses

HIT Training First to Launch New Qualification for Health and Social Care Sector

Flexi-apprenticeships are the Answer to the Dwindling Hospitality Workforce

Creating a Learn-it-All Culture

We’re Unmasking Talent in the Hospitality Industry with the Launch of the HIT Heroes Awards

Vacherin’s Nick Smith Crowned Winner of the Craft Guild of Chefs’ National Chef of the Year

HIT supports new platform to promote pub and hospitality careers

Sam Dixon takes the top spot in Young National Chef of the Year

The Opportunity Provider and Scrumptious Marketing Announce Strategic Employer Branding Partnership

HIT Heroes Award Winners Announced for 2021

Culture of Craft – The Rise of the Craft Apprenticeship

HIT Training Recognised at the Foodservice Cateys 2018

HIT Training LTD Receives Royal Recognition for Outstanding Training Impact

HIT Training Elevates Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion by Becoming Patrons of the Multicultural Apprenticeship Alliance

New movement to tackle gender inequality in the kitchen

HIT Training Ltd Earns Prestigious Gold Membership in The 5% Club

HIT Heroes Award Winners 2023

Making 2022 The ‘Year of Retention’

Two HIT Apprentices Make MasterChef Finals

HIT Training Ltd Signs New Business Drive to Help The Nation Through COVID-19 Crisis

It’s Time to Take Unnecessary Food Waste off the Menu

HIT Retains One Third of Staff for Over 10 Years

HIT Training Receives Matrix Accreditation

HIT Training Recognised at the TES FE Awards 2018

Sodexo partners with HIT to gift £250k of levy to support hospitality apprentices

How to Solve Your Staffing Problems with Apprenticeships

HIT Training Ltd Celebrates Prestigious Gold Membership of The 5% Club for Second Year Running

Election priorities: Fixing the apprenticeship levy by Jill Whittaker OBE

Harness the Power of Plant Based: One Bite at a Time

HIT Training Apprentice Becomes First to Achieve New Hospitality Supervisor Apprenticeship

HIT Training Ltd. Publishes White Paper on Apprenticeship Reforms and Workforce Development

Untapped competition: Meet the 2024 Rising Stars of Brewing

HIT Training Ltd Receives Matrix Standard

How to Offer a Degree Apprenticeship for Employers

HIT Training and The Clink Charity announce new partnership to launch apprenticeships for serving prisoners

HIT Training Offers Chartered Management Degree Apprenticeship to Drive Business Improvement

Developing an Apprenticeship Strategy

Join us for a summer of learning at HIT Training!

The Future Hospitality Workforce: What Will it Look Like Following COVID-19?

HIT celebrates new tri-nation partnership

‘The Super Six’ Unveiled

Apprentices Make History After Completing the UK’s First Ever Brewer Apprenticeship

The Opportunity Provider (TOP) ranked 28th in The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers

John Hyde Scoops Special Recognition Award

Employee-owned training group signals long-term commitment to UK skills with new name

Update to our company name

The Power of Adding Plant-Based to your Menu

How the ‘Mini-Budget’ Supports Employers, Training and Skills Development

Train your staff through hospitality apprenticeships

Three Signs your Employees are Reaching Burnout – and How to Support Them

The Importance of a Mentor for Apprentices

HIT Training Ltd Welcomes Government Reforms to Functional Skills and Shorter Apprenticeships

HIT Training and BII Collaborate on a Series of Ready to Reopen Webinars

Managing Stress Levels in the Midst of a Global Pandemic

New Graduate Apprenticeship Launched to Build Future Hospitality Leaders

Jill Whittaker, Managing Director of HIT Training Ltd, Awarded OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours

HIT Training Named in Times Top 100 Best Companies to Work for

Why we Need Apprenticeships to Build the Future

Three Ways to Keep your Staff Motivated and Inspired During Lockdown 3.0

HIT Training develops UK’s first Level 5 Hospitality Operations Manager Apprenticeship

HIT Training Ltd named “Learning Provider of the Year” at the 2025 Multicultural Apprenticeship Awards

Research Reveals a Positive Change in Perceptions of Hospitality Careers

HIT’s exciting brewing competition is back for 2024

Crunch Time: Over Half of Hospitality Businesses Risk Losing their Apprenticeship Levy Fund

Boost Your Mental Health Through Small Acts of Kindness

Government announces major youth employment drive and apprenticeship reforms

The Young National Chef of the Year Finalists Have Been Revealed

Hospitality Employers Back Shorter Apprenticeships as HIT Launches New Working Group

HIT Training Wins Award for Championing Social Mobility Through Apprenticeships

Sign up to news, events and great resources