The 2019 awards, to be held on Thursday 14th March, will focus on education, training and skills development in Milton Keynes.
The awards are organised by the Milton Keynes Business Leaders Partnership (MKBLP) in association with full service marketing agency Interdirect and event management experts Evolution Live, and will focus on how education, training and skills development underpin the need for the Milton Keynes economy and Milton Keynes businesses to increase levels of productivity to allow for successful competition in a post Brexit world.
The launch evening in September was kindly hosted by Milton Keynes College at the Business and Leadership Centre, Silbury. Guests included many local businesses, supporters, sponsors and previous winners and the 2019 categories, judges and sponsors were announced, with details on how to enter. Guest speakers included Lucian Hudson of The Open University and MKBAA 2018 award winners Cheryl Brimson, COO at Aero Tec Laboratories and Theresa Pope, co-founder of Dandi Patch.
Arena MK was revealed as the brand new location for the 2019 Awards, an exciting move to a spacious venue which can welcome a larger capacity for this increasingly popular fixture in the Milton Keynes business calendar.
The Awards evening falls just two weeks before the UK formally leaves the European Union under the terms of exit agreed in Article 50. Dr Philip Smith MBE, Chair of Milton Keynes Business Leaders Partnership explains:
“This is an incredible moment in all our lives. For business the focus must be even more on growth through trade with countries from around the world. To trade well means we need to trade competitively which in turn means businesses need to invest more in the training of their people.”
Established in 2014, the Awards recognise the achievements of a variety of Milton Keynes businesses across many different sizes and sectors. Within the 14 categories are new and exciting variations to previous awards including Best Training Scheme, Culture & Arts, Leisure & Entertainment and Technology Business.
Popular broadcaster and voiceover artist Faye Carruthers was announced as the compere for MKBAA 2019. A journalist well known for her love of sport, travel, news and current affairs, Faye is also the voice of many big brands and narrates corporate videos, commercials and e-learning modules for blue-chip clients such as John Lewis, Sky, Amazon, Argos and Disney.
The guest speaker for the evening will be Baroness Martha Lane-Fox, Chancellor of The Open University.
This year sees the return of The Open University, KPMG and Milton Keynes Council as the headline sponsors and they were thanked wholeheartedly for their continued support.
In line with MKBLP’s pledge, a cheque for £7,500 raised from MKBAA 2018 was presented to Ian Revell, CEO of MK Community Foundation. This donation was made to the trust fund established by MKBLP and the MK Community Foundation which assists start-up businesses in deprived areas of the city. This support will continue in 2019 in line with the MKBAA steering group’s pledge to continue fostering the Milton Keynes business community.
Entries are now open. To enter the MKBAA or to book a table at the awards ceremony please visit www.mkbaa.co.uk. To find out more follow @MK_BAA on Twitter, Facebook and join the discussion on LinkedIn.
