Shortlist 2026
Best apprenticeship scheme
Bosch UK & Ireland
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Clarion Housing Group
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Northern Trains
Trainee Train Driver ApprenticeshipsDescribed as an “excellent” entry by the PMA judges, the Trainee Train Driver Apprenticeship scheme launched by Northern Trains was driven by two major factors: a critical skills shortage caused by an ageing workforce and impending mass retirement, and the need to improve social mobility and workforc...
Serco
TEI - TUSAŞ Engine Industries
Best change management initiative
Gloucester City Homes
JSC Click
Kingdom Housing Association
Northern Ireland Housing Executive
Oxfordshire County Council
PZ Cussons
When the consumer goods company behind brands including Imperial Leather, Carex and Original Source, PZ Cussons, undertook a major reset of its business model between 2023 and 2026, it presented a serious delivery risk. The plan was to simplify the brand portfolio, restructure the organisation, and focus on four lead markets: the UK, I...
Best CSR/ESG initiative
Altum HR
CNH
Growthbeans
JSC Click
Crowned the winner in the Best digital/technology initiative in HR/L&D category for its innovative, gamified benefits platform Click Choyхona, Uzbekistan’s fintech leader JSC Click also impressed the PMA judges with its creation of two systemic digital ecosystems that bridge the gap between the company’s technological scale and employe...
NHS Property Services
Best digital/technology initiative in HR/L&D
Abu Dhabi Customs
Bauer Media Audio UK
Bupa
JSC Click
As Uzbekistani fintech JSC Click evolved from a 2011 start-up into a dominant fintech leader with a team of more than 500 specialists, holding on to both the company’s high-level talent and market leadership in such a fiercely competitive IT labour market was business critical. But the firm’s internal engagement survey showed that empl...
Reach
The Access Group and Norse Group
Tugela People
Best employee experience initiative - Private
First Bus
HCA Healthcare UK
MONY Group
Oxygen Conservation
PZ Cussons
The PZ Cussons ExperienceWhile undergoing a major transformation between 2023 and 2026 – for which PZ Cussons won this year’s award for Best change management initiative – the consumer goods business knew bringing the workforce along and “creating a clear, credible experience that supported belonging, development, voice and wellbeing” ...
Virgin
Welcome Break
Best employee experience initiative - Public
Abu Dhabi Customs
Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Pitch PerfectWhat impressed the judges most about Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust’s (CNWL) Pitch Perfect initiative, developed after a 2025 staff survey found only 50.9 per cent felt involved in decisions on changes affecting their work, a figure that had fallen since 2021, was its “strong commitment to employee voic...
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
Best equality, diversity and inclusion initiative (EDI)
Apollo Tyres UK
Arup
Arup Equity ProgrammesClinching this year’s award for the best EDI initiative is global design, engineering and consulting firm Arup with what the judges described as an “exceptional entry that sets the standard for evidence-led, structurally intelligent EDI practice”. Arup’s Equity Programmes were launched in response to evidence that...
John Sisk & Son
Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland
Places for People
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP
Zenith
Best health and wellbeing initiative - private sector
Bupa
Foot Anstey
Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland
Portview
Portview’s Skin Cancer and Dermatology Screening Clinic Crowned in this category by the judges for its “strong alignment to industry needs, expert-led delivery and a clear preventative focus combining clinical and behavioural support,” fit-out company Portview launched its Skin Cancer and Dermatology Screening Clinic in 2023 after reco...
Savola Foods Company
Best health and wellbeing initiative - public/third sector
Abu Dhabi Customs
Birmingham Hippodrome
Leeds College of Building
Lincoln College
You Matter (recognition and reward)Facing sustained wellbeing, retention and engagement risks, intensified by workforce shortages, funding constraints, rising demand and increasing levels of stress and mental ill health, Lincoln College knew it needed to implement a health and wellbeing initiative that would work for a multigenerationa...
Manchester Metropolitan University
NHS Property Services
University of Salford
Best HR/ L&D & OD team of the year - private sector
First Bus
Foot Anstey
Kroll
Suntory Global Spirits
Teladoc Health UK
Workwell Solutions
Workwell Solutions Hailed by the judges as an “amazing submission” that “celebrates the work of the HR team identifying the extra mile and consideration given to colleagues”, Workwell Solutions’ Together We Thrive initiative was born out of the need to reconnect its people and mission after a period of rapid growth. The global workforc...
Best HR/ L&D & OD team of the year - public/ third sector
Manchester Metropolitan University
National University Hospital (Singapore)
Shaw Trust
In 2025, employment charity Shaw Trust’s people and culture directorate faced an inflection point unparalleled in the organisation’s recent history. A significant national contract, the government’s flagship Work and Health Programme – which helped people with health conditions, disabilities or extra employment barriers find employment...
The Electoral Commission
UK-Med
University of Sunderland
Victoria and Albert Museum
Best HR/L&D & OD consultancy
7 Seas The Culture Consultancy
Atkinson HR Consulting
EY
Go Slow to Go Fast
Management Dynamics
Step Inside Group
Wintle-Camp Coaching
What stood out for the judges about Wintle-Camp Coaching’s impressive, multi-year consultancy partnership with construction business Optima Contracting was the close level of collaboration between the two teams, which “felt much more like a partnership than a client-supplier relationship”. Optima engaged Wintle-Camp after several conve...
Best HR/L&D & OD supplier
Ernst & Young
HowNow
Let's Talk Talent
Bupa Talent Accelerator Programme Following a global talent review, healthcare and wellbeing company Bupa identified a critical opportunity within its leadership pipeline. While the capability was there, progression into executive roles was not fully reflective of the diversity within its wider workforce. Instead of moving on and up, t...
MatchFit
WildHearts Talent
Wintle-Camp Coaching
Best L&D initiative – private sector
Bupa - Clinical Training Academy
Bupa - Connected Careers
CBRE
Dishoom
McCormick & Company
OCU Group
OCU Group: Connecting our Future – Early Careers and Workforce Development ProgrammeWith its Early Careers and Workforce Development Programme, described by the judges as “outstanding” and “innovative”, utilities and energy company OCU Group used its skills and capability-building initiative to address skills challenges in the construc...
Sopra Steria
Best L&D initiative – public/third sector
Citizens Advice Leicestershire
Midland Heart
National University Hospital (Singapore)
Shaw Trust
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority
The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), Saudi Arabia’s national authority responsible for customs operations, tax administration and protecting borders from illicit trade, launched its Vigilence® initiative after identifying “an urgent strategic need to transform its narcotics interdiction capability in response to the escalating...
Best organisational development or design initiative
Bupa Arabia
Financial Conduct Authority
First Bus
Project Reset: repositioning First Bus for the futureWhile existing structures at transport company First Bus had developed incrementally over time, they did so in a sector experiencing fundamental change, driven by the expansion of franchising, increased public sector oversight and heightened expectations around service reliability, s...
Hamad Medical Corporation
Klipboard
Suntory Global Spirits
University of Sunderland
Best people analytics initiative
Bupa
Gardiner Bros & Co
When footwear and clothing distributors Gardiner Bros & Co experienced rapid growth and increasing operational complexity, it was left with a fragmented approach to workforce planning that posed a number of strategic risks.Managers across departments were raising recruitment requests based on local pressure rather than strategic need, ...
Saudi Aramco
stc Group
Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority
Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority
Best resourcing initiative
Frimley NHS Foundation Trust
IDEMIA Secure Transactions
Mitchells & Butlers
National University Hospital (Singapore)
Northern Trains
We’re Not Northern Without Her – reframing careers in railAt a time when the rail industry faced ongoing skills shortages across operational and engineering roles, Northern Trains saw it was no coincidence that women remained significantly underrepresented in these very areas. With an entire pool of talent left untapped at a time the c...
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP
Savola Foods Company
Best reward or recognition initiative
Jindal Steel Oman
MONY Group
Mott MacDonald
Natural History Museum
In staff surveys at London’s Natural History Museum, pay was consistently the number one source of dissatisfaction. Many employees – particularly those in early-career roles – were frustrated that they had no mechanism to progress, perceiving it as a message that their contribution was not valued.Structural inconsistencies had emerged ...
The Electoral Commission
Best Public Sector & SME people management initiative
Fleet Mortgages
Forest Bridge School
As a public sector SEND provider operating within one of the most challenging workforce landscapes in education, Forest Bridge School faced a barrage of challenges: national recruitment shortages, the increasing complexity of pupil need and the emotional intensity for staff of specialist provision were all putting pressure on employee ...
Hollyfort
Best talent management initiative
Abu Dhabi Customs
Foot Anstey
National University Hospital (Singapore)
Odeon Cinemas
When the Odeon Cinemas Group emerged from the Covid pandemic, the entertainment landscape looked very different. Audiences increasingly expected experiences that felt personal, meaningful and connected to their communities, and potential employees wanted growth, belonging and purpose. Returning to pre-pandemic models was not an option....
Oxygen Conservation
The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer in the Department of Public Expenditure Infrastructure Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Ireland.
UK Health Security Agency
Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award
Chloe Shepherd, Phase 3
Christopher Brennan, Altum HR
Haneen Abdallah Khdour, FATEN
What made Hannen Abdallah Khdour stand out to the judges for the Michael Kelly outstanding student award was her “clear and effective benefit” to Faten, a Palestinian microfinance institution that provides financial services to small businesses and entrepreneurs, offering “invaluable analysis capability and clear evidence to support wo...
Nicole Edwards, Sainsbury's
Outstanding HR or L&D Apprentice Award - Level 5
Clair Brindley, Staffordshire Police
Jessica Sharma, Staffordshire Police
Jessica Sharma of Staffordshire Police wowed the judges with her ASCEND – Advancing Staff Capability through Engagement, Nurturing and Development – Programme, which addressed a lack of structured development pathway for early-stage police staff.Identifying that the unclear progression pathways were resulting in reduced confidence and ...
Stuart Harris, easyJet Engineering
Outstanding HR or L&D Apprentice Award - Level 7
Allan Mole, PXC
Claire Parker, Next Step Independence
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 ...
