Optionis' Laura Hutchinson named Intermediate Apprentice of Year for Mid Cheshire College

WARRINGTON, U.K. - June 20, 2016 - PRLog -- "I wanted an apprenticeship for marketing in my area, but I couldn't find the right fit," the Hartford native said recently. "After waiting that long to find a Marketing apprenticeship near my local area, I didn't think I would be in this position 18 months down the line."

Hutchinson, who has since been promoted to Marketing Administrator at Optionis Group after starting her apprenticeship there in 2014, has been named Intermediate Apprentice of the Year by Mid Cheshire College in Winsford.

She was honoured Wednesday evening at an awards celebration hosted by Mid Cheshire College at Hartford. Joanne Talbot, Head of Employer Services at the College read out Hutchinson's nomination for the award in the category of employer services, where she was subsequently presented with an official certificate.

"The recognition that Laura has received with this award is testament to the great work she has delivered for the marketing team here at Optionis," said James Lawton-Hill, Marketing Director for Optionis. "Laura is one of several marketing apprentices we have taken on in recent years and it's fantastic to see their development and resulting contribution to the business."

During her apprenticeship and subsequent employment with Optionis, Hutchinson has been actively involved in several large scale projects, including digital rebrands requiring proficiencies in building bespoke landing pages, testing and content optimisation. She also developed and now leads the conversion rate optimisation strategy for Parasol and ClearSky Contractor Accounting, two of the leading brands for Optionis.

Carol Adkins, Hutchinson's marketing assessor at Mid Cheshire College, officially nominated her for the award. In the application, Adkins cited Hutchinson's hard work, determination and self-motivation, adding that she showed a desire to go beyond what was asked of her.

"As ICT was not a requirement of the framework, being that she already had the necessary level of qualification that was not enough! The fact that there was an opportunity to do a higher level, (Hutchinson) took it."

After regular attendance at the non-mandatory ICT sessions, Laura gained a Level 2 ICT.

"The work that Laura produced 'blew me away' at times, the detail, focus, pace and digital knowledge was quite eye opening for me," Adkins noted. "Laura is an intelligent, hardworking, committed, enthusiastic, bubbly young woman, she will go far."

Hutchinson expressed appreciation for the opportunities Optionis and Mid Cheshire College have provided for her career in the last 18 months, offering particular thanks to line manager Chris Watters at Optionis.

"He has been a huge influence on my development," she stated. "I truly believe if you have a driven mind set and determination to work hard then an apprenticeship is definitely the way to go, it's certainly been a rewarding start to my career.

"With this industry, learning never stops, but it's fair to say my apprenticeship has been a great stepping stone and I'm looking forward to developing my knowledge further."

Optionis regularly works with local educational establishments such as Mid Cheshire College that supply quality apprentices and young talent in order to source the next generation of local talent.

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ABOUT OPTIONIS GROUP: Optionis Group is a professional services group specialising in managing tax, employment, accountancy and legislative compliance. The group provides a range of market leading solutions to the UK's small businesses and professional contingent workforce sectors. Their brands include Parasol and ClearSky Contractor Accounting in workforce management, and ClearSky Business, Brian Alfred & Arnsco in SME. For more information on the Optionis group, please visit http://www.optionis.co.uk.

ABOUT MID CHESHIRE COLLEGE: Mid Cheshire College is a further education college with two centres located in Hartford and Winsford. Their thriving apprenticeship programme continues to grow with exemplary success rates. Full information is available at http://www.midchesh.ac.uk/ or by contacting the College direct on 01606 74444 or by attending the next Open Evening at the Hartford Campus on Wednesday, 29 June 2016 4pm to 7pm.