THREE Towns firm James Frew won two gongs at the recent Ayrshire Chamber Awards at Ayr Racecourse  recently.

The Chamber’s “Developing Ayrshire’s Young Workforce” award recognised the organisation’s contribution to improving the life chances of young people by providing routes to employment including high quality apprenticeships for local young people in Ayrshire.

The building services firm's managing director Roddy Frew said: “This award means so much to James Frew as an organisation.

"Our James Frew Academy apprentices are very much our workforce of the future and it is essential that we develop our young people to help deliver our strategic ambitions.

"Winning this award is a fantastic accomplishment, and I am very proud of everyone involved in the development of our young people.”

In 2017, the James Frew Academy was established to develop their young workforce and includes bespoke apprenticeship training, employee development and leadership and management programmes. Since then, James Frew have developed a powerful approach to apprenticeship development based on three inter-related drivers incorporating technical skills, customer skills and meta-skills.

James Frew Modern Apprentices (MAs) benefit massively from the support they receive from their early careers teams including co-ordinators and managers which helps develop meaningful and respectful relationships.

Training Co-ordinator Elaine Kean said: “The wellbeing of our apprentices is essential and we incorporate all measures necessary to ensure the wellbeing of our apprentices. We also arrange advice workshops on mental health awareness, money management, physical exercise and healthy eating to help apprentices make more informed life choices”.

James Frew also won the Ayrshire Chamber award for “Ayrshire’s Best Business of the Year (51+ employees)”.

Judges were particularly impressed with their dedication, their strategic planning for continued success, and the way in which they differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Roddy said: “This level of positive external recognition is extremely welcomed and we are most grateful to everyone who have invested their time and expertise in contributing to our continued success. I was delighted to receive the award and on behalf of the team at James Frew.”

He added: “This year, we refreshed our James Frew brand to highlight the longevity of our trading history which is built upon strong foundations of quality, reliability and trust.

"We have embraced digital solution to improve our competitiveness and boost our productivity.”