South Gloucestershire-based Marshfield Bakery has won a national IGD award and been named Manufacturer of the Year for SME at the Insider Magazine Made in the South West Awards.

Marshfield has won the national IGD Employability Award, sponsored by Mars UK. The company was honoured for its work both in the south west and nationally "championing employability initiatives that address employability challenges, by delivering inspirational work experience and skills development opportunities", according to the judges.

IGD is a research and training charity that helps the food and grocery industry to deliver the needs of the public.

Chris Smith, managing director of Marshfield (pictured with some of the team at the IGD Awards), said: “We were thrilled to accept this award as it clearly shows how a smaller business, rurally based, can work with other organisations to improve lives in our community."

Tamsin Jones, Head of Talent Acquisition at Mars UK, added: “What impressed the judges was the enthusiasm and passion, plus the scale of the impact they are making to the employability agenda given the size of the business.

“Marshfield is a champion for building talent by hiring people, not just filling jobs. This gives its employees the opportunity to really shape their own roles into what best suits their skills and strengths.”

Smith also said of the Insider award: “We are delighted to have been given this award. It represents hard work from our fantastic team.”

He added that Marshfield Bakery has recently experienced rapid growth and invested a great deal in people, equipment and overall knowledge of the marketplace.

“We’d also like to thank our loyal customers and suppliers who have been an integral part of our business, helping to challenge us and helping us to grow further,” added sales director Ben White.

In 2013 the bakery also won an award for its apprenticeships.