The Chartered Insurance Institute has launched its first Apprenticeship Awards.

Categories include Financial Adviser Apprentice of the Year and Paraplanner Apprentice of the Year.

The CII says the awards will, “celebrate the achievements of exceptional apprentices from across the UK in seven categories.”

There will be cash prizes of up to £1,000 funded by the CII’s Education and Training Trust.

The nomination window opened at the start of the National Apprenticeship Week which started on 6 February and will close on 12 May.

The awards are open to apprentices in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales that meet the awards criteria. Criteria include achieving a CII qualification as part of successfully completing an apprenticeship standard or framework.

Nominations can come from employers, training providers and apprentices themselves.

The judges will be drawn from the insurance and personal finance professions who will join CII panellists to decide category finalists and the overall winners.

The categories and prizes are:

Financial Services

• Financial Services Administrator Apprentice of the Year – Level 3 (£500)
• Mortgage Adviser Apprentice of the Year – Level 3 (£500)
• Paraplanner Apprentice of the Year – Level 4 (£600)
• Financial Adviser Apprentice of the Year – Level 4 (£800)

General Insurance

• Insurance practitioner Apprentice of the Year – Level 3 (£500)
• Insurance professional Apprentice of the Year – Level 4 (£800)
• Senior insurance professional Apprentice of the Year – Level 6 (£1000)

CII President Russell Higginbotham said: “I am delighted to launch these new awards, which build on the great success of other programmes we already run to encourage young people to join the insurance and personal finance professions, including our Next Gen initiative.

“I hope employers, training providers and apprentices themselves are excited to enter these awards and see them as a prestigious acknowledgment of the time, energy and hard work they invest in studying for their CII qualifications and broader apprenticeship.”