Winners 2026
Best apprenticeship scheme
WINNER: 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...
Highly Commended: Clarion Housing Group
Shortlist: Bosch UK & Ireland
Shortlist: Cheshire West and Chester Council
Shortlist: Learnmore
Shortlist: Serco
Shortlist: TEI - TUSAŞ Engine Industries
Best change management initiative
WINNER: 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...
Highly Commended: Kingdom Housing Association
Shortlist: Gloucester City Homes
Shortlist: JSC Click
Shortlist: Northern Ireland Housing Executive
Shortlist: Oxfordshire County Council
Best CSR/ESG initiative
WINNER: 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...
Shortlist: Altum HR
Shortlist: CNH
Shortlist: Growthbeans
Shortlist: NHS Property Services
Best digital/technology initiative in HR/L&D
WINNER: 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...
Shortlist: Abu Dhabi Customs
Shortlist: Bauer Media Audio UK
Shortlist: Bupa
Shortlist: Reach
Shortlist: The Access Group and Norse Group
Shortlist: Tugela People
Best employee experience initiative - Private
WINNER: 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” ...
Highly Commended: Oxygen Conservation
Shortlist: First Bus
Shortlist: HCA Healthcare UK
Shortlist: MONY Group
Shortlist: Virgin
Shortlist: Welcome Break
Best employee experience initiative - Public
WINNER: 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...
Shortlist: Abu Dhabi Customs
Shortlist: Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
Best equality, diversity and inclusion initiative (EDI)
WINNER: 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...
Highly Commended: Places for People
Shortlist: Apollo Tyres UK
Shortlist: John Sisk & Son
Shortlist: Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland
Shortlist: PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP
Shortlist: Zenith
Best health and wellbeing initiative - private sector
WINNER: 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...
Shortlist: Bupa
Shortlist: Foot Anstey
Shortlist: Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland
Shortlist: Savola Foods Company
Best health and wellbeing initiative - public/third sector
WINNER: 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...
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Abu Dhabi Customs
Highly Commended: NHS Property Services
Shortlist: Birmingham Hippodrome
Shortlist: Leeds College of Building
Shortlist: Manchester Metropolitan University
Shortlist: University of Salford
Best HR/ L&D & OD team of the year - private sector
WINNER: 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...
Highly Commended: Kroll
Shortlist: First Bus
Shortlist: Foot Anstey
Shortlist: Suntory Global Spirits
Shortlist: Teladoc Health UK
Best HR/ L&D & OD team of the year - public/ third sector
WINNER: 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...
Highly Commended: UK-Med
Shortlist: Manchester Metropolitan University
Shortlist: National University Hospital (Singapore)
Shortlist: The Electoral Commission
Shortlist: University of Sunderland
Shortlist: Victoria and Albert Museum
Best HR/L&D & OD consultancy
WINNER: 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...
Highly Commended: Go Slow to Go Fast
Shortlist: 7 Seas The Culture Consultancy
Shortlist: Atkinson HR Consulting
Shortlist: EY
Shortlist: Management Dynamics
Shortlist: Step Inside Group
Best HR/L&D & OD supplier
WINNER: 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...
Highly Commended: Wintle-Camp Coaching
Shortlist: Ernst & Young
Shortlist: HowNow
Shortlist: MatchFit
Shortlist: WildHearts Talent
Best L&D initiative – private sector
WINNER: 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...
Highly Commended: Dishoom
Shortlist: Bupa - Clinical Training Academy
Shortlist: Bupa - Connected Careers
Shortlist: CBRE
Shortlist: McCormick & Company
Shortlist: Sopra Steria
Best L&D initiative – public/third sector
WINNER: 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...
Highly Commended: National University Hospital (Singapore)
Shortlist: Citizens Advice Leicestershire
Shortlist: Midland Heart
Shortlist: Shaw Trust
Shortlist: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Best organisational development or design initiative
WINNER: 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...
Shortlist: Bupa Arabia
Shortlist: Financial Conduct Authority
Shortlist: Hamad Medical Corporation
Shortlist: Klipboard
Shortlist: Suntory Global Spirits
Shortlist: University of Sunderland
Best people analytics initiative
WINNER: 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, ...
Shortlist: Bupa
Shortlist: Saudi Aramco
Shortlist: stc Group
Shortlist: Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority
Shortlist: Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority
Best resourcing initiative
WINNER: 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...
Shortlist: Frimley NHS Foundation Trust
Shortlist: IDEMIA Secure Transactions
Shortlist: Mitchells & Butlers
Shortlist: National University Hospital (Singapore)
Shortlist: PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP
Shortlist: Savola Foods Company
Best reward or recognition initiative
WINNER: 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 ...
Highly Commended: Jindal Steel Oman
Shortlist: MONY Group
Shortlist: Mott MacDonald
Shortlist: The Electoral Commission
Best Public Sector & SME people management initiative
WINNER: 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 ...
Shortlist: Fleet Mortgages
Shortlist: Hollyfort
Best talent management initiative
WINNER: 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....
Shortlist: Abu Dhabi Customs
Shortlist: Foot Anstey
Shortlist: National University Hospital (Singapore)
Shortlist: Oxygen Conservation
Shortlist: The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer in the Department of Public Expenditure Infrastructure Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Ireland.
Shortlist: UK Health Security Agency
Michael Kelly Outstanding Student Award
WINNER: 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...
Highly Commended: Christopher Brennan, Altum HR
Shortlist: Chloe Shepherd, Phase 3
Shortlist: Nicole Edwards, Sainsbury's
Outstanding HR or L&D Apprentice Award - Level 5
WINNER: 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 ...
Shortlist: Clair Brindley, Staffordshire Police
Shortlist: Stuart Harris, easyJet Engineering
Outstanding HR or L&D Apprentice Award - Level 7
WINNER: 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 ...
