ERSA Awards 2024 - Finalists Revealed!

The Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) is thrilled to announce the finalists in its 2024 Employability Awards. Now in their 12th year, the awards recognise outstanding achievements and innovation across the employability sector. 

With 15 fiercely contested categories, the ERSA Awards spotlight the diverse and holistic support given to employers, communities, and disadvantaged learners and jobseekers across the UK. Sponsored this year by Whitehead-Ross Education, the ERSA Awards are the most well established and best respected accolades for the thousands of individuals and organisations Working for Better Work.

Year after year, the ERSA Awards celebrate the incredible achievements across our sector and with additional categories added for 2024, this year promises to be the biggest and best yet,” says ERSA CEO, Elizabeth Taylor.

After a busy and challenging year, and following discussion and debate at the conference, this is our chance to celebrate together and applaud the remarkable work undertaken in support of others. Everyone is deserving of recognition and our judges have had the difficult task of identifying the real shining stars. I’d like to thank everyone who entered, and thoroughly congratulate those shortlisted.

Judging an impressive number of nominations, the panel has chosen the following finalists, with winners to be announced following ERSA’s Annual Conference in London on 4 December. 

Working for Better Work

Frontline Advisor

Kindly sponsored by Serco

  • Ellie Powell, Papworth Trust
  • Louise Pelly, Enable Works
  • Robert Gibson, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
  • Carrie Abraham, The Growth Company
  • Paige Tilbrook, The Forward Trust
  • Lisa Jackson, Shaw Trust
  • Reena Bappoo, Get Set UK
  • Katie Enstone, Career Connect
  • Yuliia Khotieieva, Maximus
  • David Matthew, PeoplePlus
  • Genevieve Bailey, Seetec
  • Russell Brummell, Southwark Works (St Giles Trust)

Working for Better Work

Frontline Manager

Kindly sponsored by Catch22

  • Tanina Sheath, The Growth Company
  • John Bowering, Acorn Training
  • Louise Dempster, Better Jobs, Better Futures – Gower College Swansea
  • Andrea Wilks, Mental Health Matters
  • Simone Langley, Ingeus
  • Claire Meredith, Seetec

Working for Better Work

Employer Engagement Practitioner

Kindly sponsored by Coyne Recruitment

  • Shane Forster, The Education People
  • Vikas, Get Set UK
  • Bev Davies, ELITE Supported Employment
  • Jenny Smith, Reed in Partnership
  • Darren Melford, PeoplePlus
  • Michael Donaghy, Unity Works

Working for Better Work

Outstanding Participant

Kindly sponsored by PeoplePlus

  • Positive Steps nominee, Hemam Solomon
  • Successful Mums Career Academy nominee, Alkarim Haji (posthumous award)
  • Clarion Futures nominee, Maisie Barrette
  • Ingeus nominee, Kateryana Rybchenko
  • Waythrough nominee, Lee Chrisp
  • Breaking Barriers nominee, Manoel

Working for Better Work

Employer Partnership

Kindly sponsored by 4front Partners

  • One Parent Families Scotland, nominated by Public Health Scotland
  • OCS, nominated by Reed in Partnership
  • AAA Caring Caretaker, nominated by Waythrough
  • The Unlocking Refugee Talent initiative (Breaking Barriers, Barclays, LinkedIn and Microsoft)
  • Tesco, nominated by Maximus
  • Sefton@Work, ‘Employer Partner Agreement’, nominated by G4S

Working for Better Work

Community Outreach

Kindly sponsored by entitledto

  • Working Well: Support to Succeed (WW:STS), nominated by The Growth Company
  • Employability Durham, Durham County Council
  • ENABLE, East London Business Alliance
  • Refugee Employability Programme, Get Set UK
  • The Bridge Project, Belina Grow
  • Housing Employment Network North East (HENNE)

Working for Better Work

Tailored Employment Support

Kindly sponsored by ICONI

  • The Bespoke Employer Led Programmes, Middlesbrough College Group
  • Care Leavers into Careers, Catch-22
  • Refugee Employability Programme Team, Triage
  • United for Ukraine, The Growth Company
  • RNIB-Pre-Employment (Partnerships with Professionals) Team
  • Novus

Working for Better Work

Health Solutions for Work

Kindly sponsored by Maximus

  • The Nest, West Lancashire Borough Council
  • Working Well: Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, nominated by The Growth Company
  • IPS Dundee, nominated by Enable Works
  • The Better Health Generation
  • Health, Independance and Progression (HIP) initiative, nominated by Ingeus UK
  • Central England Health and Wellbeing Team, nominated by Seetec

Working for Better Work

Driving Compliance, Quality and Performance

Sponsorship Available

  • Cameron Jones, Growth Company
  • Ingeus in collaboration with Cowry Consultants
  • Samir Ahmed, London Borough of Tower Hamlets
  • Routes to Change Team, Routes to Work

Working for BETTER WORK

Partnership and Collaboration

Kindly sponsored by Clarion Futures

  • Routes to Work and NHS Lanarkshire
  • Enable Works – All in Glasgow
  • Mental Health Matters and NHS Oxfordshire Talking Therapies
  • Career Connect and Hugh Baird College
  • Shaw Trust and Transport for London
  • Maximus and Pure Insights

Working for Bettter work

Adding Social Value

Kindly sponsored by Fedcap

  • Offploy CIC
  • Broadgate Connect nominated by East London Business Alliance
  • PeoplePlus
  • Wakefield Council STEP UP Programme
  • Maximus UK, Local Impact Fund
  • Jobs-22, Community Investment Fund

Working for better work

Digital Solution

Kindly sponsored by Genius Within

  • imployable
  • DOST Digital Innovations Center
  • Naturally Talented Me
  • Earlybird AI
  • Cosmic nominated by Seetec

Working for better work

Youth Employment

Sponsorship Available

  • Resurgo
  • The Social Switch Project, nominated by Catch22
  • Clarion Futures
  • Routeways to Work, nominated by Papworth Trust
  • EY Foundation
  • Careers Worcestershire, nominated by Worcestershire County Council

Working for better work

Progression in Work

Kindly sponsored by Seetec

  • Better Jobs, Better Futures
  • AutonoMe
  • Harvey Kynoch, Get Set UK
  • Career Coaching, Ingeus

Working FOR BETTER WORK

Skills for Work

Kindly sponsored by Education Development Trust

  • Adult Community Learning, Whitehead Ross Education
  • Adult Skills Team, The Forward Trust
  • Energise, Catch22
  • The Housing Employment Network North East (HENNE)
  • Westminster Works, Step Ahead Social Enterprise CIC

ERSA’s Lifetime Achievement and Outstanding Contribution to the Sector individuals will be announced at the ERSA Awards.