Scottish Apprenticeship Awards Nomination entry rules
Read the entry rules and key information for this year’s awards.
Entries for the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards must be fully compliant with all entry rules on this page. These include the general rules, category rules, key dates and privacy notice.
Please note – the entry rules criteria have been updated for 2026 to 2027. Before starting your nominations, please carefully read the general rules, key dates, category rules and privacy notice.
General rules
Entries will only be accepted for apprenticeships taking place in Scotland that are funded by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) or the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
The awards are free to enter and organisations are eligible to enter as many categories as they wish.
A separate entry must be submitted for each individual or organisation being nominated.
Individuals or organisations can only be nominated once within each category – additional entries for the same individual or organisation within a single category will not be accepted.
Nomination entries will only be accepted via the Apprenticeships.scot online system.
Entries cannot be amended after they have been submitted or after the closing date for applications has passed.
Nominations that do not meet the entry rules, that contain incorrect information or that are entered in an incorrect level or category will be disqualified automatically.
SDS reserves the right to withdraw candidates who are no longer with their employers at the time of the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards.
It is the nominator's responsibility to inform the nominee that they are submitting a nomination before they submit.
SDS will separately seek consent from shortlisted nominees regarding the collection and use of data relating to photography, filming and media.
SDS will complete a validation of all entries.
The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into regarding the selection of finalists and winners.
In the event of any potential conflict of interest, please seek clarification in advance of submitting the entry. In the first instance, contact scotappawards@sds.co.uk.
Key dates
The closing date for receipt of all completed nominations is 5pm on Friday 9 October 2026.
All finalists and their employers must be available between Wednesday 6 January 2027 and Friday 19 February 2027 for finalist filming and/or photography. This content will be used during the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards show and in event-related media activity.
Winners will be revealed at a live ceremony on Friday 26 February, hosted at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow as the launch event for Scottish Apprenticeship Week.
Please now read the category rules for information on each category and the privacy notice for information on how we use data.
Category rules
Category rules have been updated for 2026 to 2027. Please check the criteria for your categories before nominating.
Foundation Apprentice of the Year
Nominations for Foundation Apprentice of the Year should be completed by the Foundation Apprentice’s learning provider, a school representative or their employer.
This category is open to apprentices who will complete their Foundation Apprenticeship and achieve certification between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026.
The Foundation Apprenticeship qualification may be completed at SCQF Level 4, 5 or 6.
Modern Apprentice of the Year – SCQF Level 5
Nominations for Modern Apprentice of the Year – SCQF Level 5 should be completed by the Modern Apprentice’s employer or learning provider.
This category is open to apprentices who will complete their Modern Apprenticeship at SCQF Level 5 and achieve certification between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026.
All apprentices must be employed in a role that links directly to the apprenticeship framework achieved and not self-employed.
Modern Apprentice of the Year – SCQF Level 6+
Nominations for Modern Apprentice of the Year – SCQF Level 6+ should be completed by the Modern Apprentice’s employer or learning provider.
This category is open to apprentices who will complete their Modern Apprenticeship at SCQF Level 6+ and achieve certification between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026.
All apprentices must be employed in a role that links directly to the apprenticeship framework achieved and not self-employed.
Graduate Apprentice of the Year
Nominations for Graduate Apprentice of the Year should be completed by the Graduate Apprentice’s employer or learning provider.
This category is open to apprentices who will complete their Graduate Apprenticeship and achieve certification between 1 January 2026 and 31 December 2026.
All apprentices must be employed in a role that links directly to the apprenticeship framework achieved and not self-employed.
SME Employer of the Year
Nominations for SME Employer of the Year should be completed by an employer, or a learning provider working in partnership with the employer they are nominating.
The SME Employer of the Year category is only open to apprentice employers, including public sector, with fewer than 250 employees.
If your business is part of a larger organisation with 250 or more employees, please nominate in the Large Employer of the Year category.
Nominations in this category must be for an organisation and not a department or team within an organisation.
Large Employer of the Year
Nominations for Large Employer of the Year should be completed by an employer, or a learning provider working in partnership with the employer they are nominating.
The Large Employer of the Year category is only open to apprentice employers, including public sector, with 250 or more employees.
Nominations in this category must be for an organisation and not a department or team within an organisation.
Leading in Learning Provision
Nominations for the Leading in Learning Provision category should be completed by a learning provider, or an employer working in partnership with the learning provider they are nominating.
Nominees must be currently delivering learning provision for Foundation, Modern or Graduate Apprentices in Scotland, whose training is funded by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) or the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).
Nominations in this category must be for an organisation and not a department or team within an organisation.
Privacy notice
This privacy notice explains how Skills Development Scotland (SDS) will use the personal information provided as part of a nomination for the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards.
Participation in the awards is voluntary. By submitting a nomination, you confirm that you have read this privacy notice and agree to SDS using the personal information provided for the purposes set out below.
SDS will use the information provided to administer the awards process, verify eligibility, assess nominations, and contact nominators and nominees with awards-specific information in the lead-up to the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards.
SDS may share relevant nomination information with awards partners where this is needed to support the administration, judging, promotion, or delivery of the awards. SDS will only share the information needed for these purposes.
If you are submitting information about a nominee, you should ensure they are aware that their personal information is being provided to SDS and direct them to this privacy notice before the entry closing date.
SDS will hold nomination information securely for up to 12 months after submission. After this, the information will be deleted from SDS systems unless it is deleted earlier following withdrawal of consent.
You can withdraw consent at any time by contacting the SDS Data Protection Team at DPO@sds.co.uk. Please note that if consent is withdrawn, SDS may no longer be able to progress the nomination or include the nominee in the awards process.
SDS may also contact nominees after the awards to hear about their next steps, share relevant apprenticeship opportunities, or invite them to take part in future apprenticeship events or activities. This contact is optional, and nominees can ask SDS not to contact them for these purposes at any time by contacting DPO@sds.co.uk.
More information about how SDS uses personal information, including your rights under data protection legislation, is available in our full privacy notice.
Responsibility for the funding and delivery of apprenticeships and national training programmes is due to transfer from Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) from April 2027. As part of this change, responsibility for the awards and the personal information contained in award nominations will transfer to SFC.