Top to Toe Hair and Beauty Salon fought off tough competition to win the Small Employer of the Year category, in the regional finals of the National Apprenticeship Awards.

The awards celebrate the success of the country's most exceptional apprenticeship employers, and the ceremony was held at the Cambridge Belfry Hotel on September 4.

The salon will proceed to the final national judging stage where it will also feature in the top one hundred apprenticeship employers list which will be announced on November 13 at the LG Arena in Birmingham.

Paul Davies, Creative Director of Top To Toe said 'Apprenticeships are the life blood of our business, they give us the perfect framework to deliver a great standard of education and a nationally recognised qualification for our apprentices.

'The rewards in staff retention and client loyalty and brand building are invaluable to us.' Jane Howling, Training Advisor at The College of West Anglia nominated the salon and attended the event alongside Paul.

She said:'Top to Toe Hair & Beauty deserves to be recognised in this prestigious way, they have a commitment to apprenticeships and believe that training is the cornerstone to their industry.

'Paul's leadership inspires his team to the highest level and I am very proud to work and support them in their training needs'.

Skills and Enterprise Minister Nick Boles, added: 'Those who were recognised during the ceremony are the best of the best, and I would like to congratulate them on their success.