Utility giant Severn Trent has been named the UK's top water company to work for as an apprentice - as rated by trainees themselves.
The water company's apprenticeship scheme came 19th in the Rate My Apprenticeships top 100 list showcasing which companies offer the best apprenticeships and school experience programmes across the UK.
The company, which serves 4.4 million customers across the Midlands and into north and mid-Wales, received more than 3,000 applications for its apprenticeship scheme this year.
It welcomed 61 new apprentices this year on the programme which aims to offer the chance to combine hands-on experience with studying, while earning a competitive salary.
Mark Smith, learning and development adviser at Severn Trent, said: "This is an amazing performance because Rate My Apprenticeships is rated by apprentices, for apprentices.
"We always strive to provide our apprentices with an outstanding experience, and this ranking is telling us that we're getting it right.
"To be ranked first in our industry is just fantastic, it's really encouraging to see how we compare to other companies so we can make sure we continually work to improve the experience for our apprentices," said Mark.
"We make sure our apprentices are supported by other colleagues and that they get the very best out of their apprenticeship to kick-start their career with Severn Trent.
"We're continually looking to improve and develop our programme, so hopefully next year we’re heading to number one!"
Severn Trent bosses said it had doubled the number of options available to apprentices by offering eight different schemes, including new programmes such as finance, group commercial and project management, alongside the previous operational and engineering schemes.
