The stars of the employability sector stepped into the limelight as the winners of 2024’s Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) Awards were revealed in London at the ERSA Conference on 4th December 2024.
Celebrating excellence across the field, these prestigious awards recognised remarkable achievements in 15 categories, spanning national, local, and specialist providers.
Now in their 12th year, the awards—sponsored by Whitehead Ross Education—highlighted the compassion, innovation, and dedication of the often-overlooked individuals who create transformative opportunities for jobseekers and learners.
An independent panel of experts judged the entries, with ERSA CEO Elizabeth Taylor commenting:
“Picking the winners from so many entries is both challenging and inspiring. It underlines how our sector engages people outside the reach of Jobcentre Plus and finds jobs or training for such a diverse range of people.
“Our work is so important not just to the individuals we support but their communities and those UK businesses in desperate need of employees to Get Britain Working.
“My congratulations to all the winners and my thanks to the sponsors who make these awards possible.”
The event’s most enthusiastic applause was given for Caroline and Jacqui Fox of the Twin Group, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Gareth Parry of Maximus UK, honoured for his Outstanding Contribution to the sector.
Starting from scratch back in 1995, Caroline and Jacqui Fox have grown their operations from a house in Lewisham to an international business, recently recognised as one of the UK’s fastest-growing female-led businesses.
Their unwavering dedication and exceptional leadership has seen them transform the lives of a diverse group of people including asylum seekers, young people, parents-in-conflict, unemployed jobseekers, ex-offenders and people with significant disabilities.
This award recognises an exceptional leader, an inspirational individual whose leadership has driven performance and policy to shape a fairer labour market.
Gareth Parry has dedicated his entire career, more than 35 years, to the employability sector. The teams he has been part of and led have supported an estimated 400,000 people into work. He is an expert voice for commissioners and ministers alike, and his passion has always been to improve employment opportunities for disabled people.
Katie Enstone is an outstanding Special Educational Needs Careers Advisor in the Sefton NEET Reduction and Early Intervention Team. She supports a caseload of 359 people, creating change with some of the most vulnerable young people in society, challenging stereotypes, and moving them closer to the labour market.
Yuliia Khotieieva: The Routes to Change team developed a tool measuring outcomes across six areas: health, wellbeing, confidence and motivation, skills, finances, and support networks. Embedding the tool into daily practice led to significant improvements in service quality and client satisfaction. It has streamlined compliance processes, enabling clear tracking of client journeys.
Tanina is a service manager on the Working Well: Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care contract. She has spent 21 years in the welfare-to-work sector, passionately supporting individuals facing adversity. Her passion is personal; drawing on her own experiences to ensure others do not face similar struggles.
Michael genuinely understands employers in the local labour market and the needs of participants with learning disabilities and autism. He draws on his own neurodivergent experiences to deliver disability awareness training and authentically advise employers on creating inclusive work spaces and recruitment practices.
Kateryna fled Ukraine with nothing, experiencing PTSD. Settling with a host family in Bolton, the former nurse volunteered at a hospice before securing a role as an apprentice theatre assistant at a local hospital. She now works three days a week whilst studying for a healthcare assistant qualification
Leveraging the unique strengths of each partner, over the last 12 months this collaborative partnership has empowered over 1,100 refugees across five major cities, with more than 220 securing employment. Through a blend of online and in-person events, employees — including senior leaders — have volunteered their time and expertise.
Get Set’s Refugee Employability Programme has helped over 700 refugees across the East of England in the past year. It has partnered with more than 125 local organisations to provide community integration support and given training to 435 refugees, helping them prepare for work and life in their local communities.
A tailored support package for blind and partially sighted jobseekers. Skilled Employment Advisors develop personalised action plans, detailing steps into work and barriers to address, alongside referrals to wider services. In work support and guidance to employers is also provided, with 192 people moving into work to date.
Individual Placement Support Dundee is an integrated service between Enable Works and NHS Tayside Community Mental Health Teams, funded by Discover Work. They provide specialist support to individuals experiencing mental and behavioural health conditions, integrating health and employability to support participants into high quality, sustainable employment.
Bringing together 18 third-sector employability providers and local grass root organisations, All in Glasgow offers training for work, progress for parents, and disability and health services. It ensures there is ‘no wrong door’, with individuals guided to the appropriate support to thrive in the labour market.
PeoplePlus delivers significant social value through initiatives that support disadvantaged individuals and communities. This year, it has helped over 3,500 people find employment, 6,000 to upskill, and delivered 15,000 courses to prisoners. Its Social Recruitment Advocacy Group unites businesses across the UK to promote inclusive recruitment, retention, and employee development.
Earlybird AI empowers advisors with cutting-edge software solutions designed to make participant engagement and data collection more efficient. Its key feature is a conversational AI assistant, which enables participants to respond to questions. The platform is multilingual and helps providers quickly identify the challenges participants face.
Resurgo’s Spear Programme offers free work-readiness coaching to young people facing barriers to employment. Since its inception in 2004, Spear has coached more than 10,000 NEET 16-24-year-olds across the UK. 75% of Spear completers get into work or further training and are still there a year later.eature is a conversational AI assistant, which enables participants to respond to questions. The platform is multilingual and helps providers quickly identify the challenges participants face.
Ingeus offers Career Coaching services to high-level professionals referred to the Restart Scheme. Career coaching empowers clients to pivot their careers, maintain their professional standing, and thrive in new roles or industries. It ensures clients can leverage their extensive experience while adapting to the rapidly changing business landscape.
The Energise programme operates in Liverpool, Manchester, Norfolk and London and helps people facing barriers to work into careers in the energy transition sector. In just over a year of delivery, 1,103 participants have completed the programme, with 264 progressing into paid employment so far.
The ERSA Awards, presented annually at the ERSA Conference since 2013,
are the most prestigious awards in the employment support sector. The
winners are chosen by a panel of independent judges and represent the
very best of the sector and form part of our drive
to encourage best practice among our members.