ABDO wins Best Newcomer award for careers campaign

Nick and Antonia attend the virtual awards ceremony

ABDO has won the Best Newcomer award for its Careers in Eyecare campaign from Youth Employment UK (YEUK).

The Career in Eyecare campaign promotes careers across the sector, highlighting the range of clinical, fashion, design, technical and retail roles available. It was launched in 2020, and maximises the use of social media to reach out to young people, parents and careers advisers, and those looking to change career.

YEUK made the award at its Annual Impact & Awards Event. There are two awards for employers. Antonia Chitty, ABDO head of communications, and Nick Walsh, ABDO sector services development officer, received the award on behalf of ABDO at a virtual ceremony. The other award from Youth Friendly Employer of the Year 2020 was won by Coca Cola European Partners.

Antonia said: “In a year where very little has gone to plan, we are thrilled that we have been able to launch Careers in Eyecare, an online campaign to highlight the wide and varied range of careers available in this field. Receiving this award is massively positive, and we look forward to continuing the campaign and expanding it in 2021. My thanks go to all the other organisations in the fields of eye care and eye wear who have helped us make such a good start on the careers hub. Wwe will be developing these partnerships and building further links in 2021.”

Nick added: “We identified YEUK as a key partner for our campaign because of their existing careers hub and the way they ensure that young people have a voice in shaping their activities. They have a huge ready-made audience which is enabling Careers in Eyecare to reach people who may never have considered a career in our sector. YEUK also has valuable links with government departments. This is an incredibly valuable partnership for ABDO, and it is great that YEUK has recognised ABDO’s commitment to highlighting careers with this award.”

The awards were presented by Kirstie Donnelly MBE CEO, City & Guilds, and David Phillips, managing director, City & Guilds and ILM.

Find out more about ABDO’s Careers in Eyecare campaign here. You can also find the campaign on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.