Four apprentices in the Institute of Telecommunications Professionals (ITP) apprenticeship scheme have become the first to graduate from the initiative.
Sara Maitland, Josh Fowler and Ryan Keirle from Level 3 and Green Telecom's Aneel Ahmed were among the first cohort of apprentices to sign up to the scheme in April 2013.
They have now completed their Level 3 Diploma in IT and Telecommunications, and three are now progressing towards their Level 4.
Ahmed and Fowler were winners of the ITP SME Apprentice of the Year 2014 and Ahmed was also a finalist of Coventry Freemans Apprentice of the Year 2014.
The ITP scheme, launched in March 2013, has proved popular with 36 young people placed in telecoms apprenticeships across the country.
"This has not only given those individuals their start in a thriving career, but also enabled telecoms businesses of all shapes and sizes to grow their own talent and reap the rewards of having an apprentice," said Adam Oliver, CEO of the ITP.
"We congratulate our first graduates and we are proud of them and all they have achieved," added Oliver. "We'd also thank the telecoms businesses that put their faith in our scheme, and look forward to bringing even more much-needed fresh talent into the sector in the future."
Pictured (l-r) Aneel Ahmed, Ryan Keirle and Josh Fowler