Vorboss, London’s business fibre network, picked up top prizes at last night’s Institute of Telecommunications Professionals Awards, including the People and Culture award, while installation technician Caprice Butcher won the Apprentice of the Year – Advanced category.

More than 200 people convened at the Royal Lancaster in London Wednesday night, to celebrate talent in the digital industry. In true recognition of the outstanding work done at Vorboss, both awards acknowledged the company’s fundamental principles of transparency, inclusion, and positive social impact, which it aims to amplify across the telecoms industry.

Both awards highlighted the unique position Vorboss holds within the telecoms industry. Over 40% of installation technicians and engineers are women at Vorboss, a metric that sets a standard in a historically male-dominated sector.

This position is a product of the company’s commitment to investing in its people. From period days and personal days off, to welfare vans for field teams and the redesigning of industry tools and uniforms to fit and accommodate all body types, Vorboss is committed to breaking down barriers to entry into the telecoms industry. This approach is embodied by the Vorboss academy, which has so far trained over 300 technicians and engineers.

Accepting the advanced Apprentice of the Year prize, apprentice installation technician Caprice Butcher is a shining example of how the Vorboss academy is giving people the best start to their telecoms career. Working since she was 15 to help her family, Caprice arrived at the Vorboss academy without any formal qualifications and little technical confidence. Only a year later, Caprice is now one of the company’s rising stars. Her win represents a new generation of London’s workforce powering and diversifying current and future businesses.

Rikshita Khela, Chief People Officer at Vorboss, says: “We are thrilled to be recognised for our hard work to create a better and more inclusive tech company. The awards are a testament not only to the importance of maintaining a diverse culture and its positive impact on the business, but also its significance to the entire industry.

“We have spent the last few years really challenging the standard across telecommunications and how it attracts, develops and retains a diverse range of people. The added value of empowering our employees is easily reflected in our high levels of product delivery and customer experience. We have worked tirelessly to create a kind of business that we will all want to work for, and other companies want to partner with, for years to come.”