Nicole Edwards, Sainsbury's

The judges said Nicole Edwards’ work towards Sainsbury’s people ambition for 2030 while completing her level 7 Senior People Professional Apprenticeship “reads like a high-level strategic impact statement”, demonstrating systems thinking, influence, data-led decision making and behavioural change.

Edwards’ initiative was driven by what she perceived as a growing gap between Sainsbury’s people ambition for 2030 and the operational reality of capability delivery in retail. While the organisation aspired to become one of the best places to work, workforce data and colleague insight showed that existing approaches were not consistently building inclusive, sustainable capability at scale. 

Analysing workforce, progression and performance data highlighted that a high proportion of managers hadn’t been in the role long, and progression data showed persistent underrepresentation of women at senior levels and limited access to part‐time leadership opportunities, indicating structural barriers within the leadership pipeline. There was fragmented ownership, duplication and competing priorities, while well‐designed initiatives often struggled to embed as a result of unclear accountability and governance.

For Edwards, a system‐level intervention was required to create a foundation for the 2030 ambition. She analysed workforce and progression data to identify capability and inclusion gaps and influence where investment was needed most. Edwards helped shape the organisation’s people planning, influenced the people division operating model and aligned broader ways of working to retail priorities, creating a joined‐up, capability‐led system. Furthermore, she spearheaded the introduction of learning partners as an enabling mechanism, supporting consistent and credible delivery at store level. 

Feedback from people partners and retail leaders demonstrated increased clarity on ownership, sequencing and decision making, alongside a reduction in initiative overload on stores. 

“This is a strong application that demonstrates both short and long-term ambition and clear organisational drivers,” the judges said. “The nominee has outlined an approach designed to support the organisation in achieving these strategic aims. This initiative created a capability‑led system that unlocks value for retail and strengthens the credibility of the people team across the organisation, and is a good example of applying learning from the apprenticeship programme.”