The Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) will announce the winners of the 2021 Employability Awards on Thursday 25 November at 2pm.
Supported by lead sponsors Cognisoft and Clarion Futures, the awards highlight the unsung employability heroes of the past year.
Now in their ninth year, the ERSA awards celebrate best practice in the employment support sector and demonstrate the hard work and dedication of those working to improve the lives of jobseekers, communities, and the wider workforce. This year over 200 entries were received from private, voluntary, social enterprise and public sector organisations across the UK.
This year’s theme recognises ‘The Covid Employability Challenge’ and the shortlist includes a wide variety of organisations and individuals who have delivered exceptional service and support to disadvantaged groups during the pandemic.
The 11 award categories highlight the range of work being undertaken to help people gain employment, from stand-out advisers demonstrating extraordinary commitment in a frontline role to teams supporting individuals and communities hardest hit by the pandemic, as well as the exceptional jobseekers and learners they support.
Elizabeth Taylor, ERSA CEO says: “We have been overwhelmed by the response to the ERSA Employability Awards and the truly inspiring work of all those who have gone above and beyond in what has been an incredibly challenging year.
“Thank you to all those who entered – you should be incredibly proud of your achievements – and a huge well done to all those who have made the shortlist. We can’t wait for the winners to be revealed at the end of November.”
Also open to non-ERSA members, the employability awards recognise any organisation involved in the sector. This year’s entries were judged by Associate Professor Jo Ingold, Department of Management, Deakin University; Sam Windett, Deputy Director, Learning and Work Institute; and Jagdeep Soor, Programme Manager at the Centre for Ageing Better and Gill Holmes, Director, Contract Management and Partner Delivery, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The winners will be announced during a hybrid networking event with live stream and viewing parties around the UK on Thursday 25 November.
St Helens Chamber is proud that our Career Coach Jack Parker has been nominated for Frontline Adviser of the Year – sponsored by the IEP: Employment advisers and job coaches demonstrating exceptional commitment in a frontline role.
Jack, St Helens Chamber
Jack is inspiring, devoted, and passionate and has provided consistently outstanding compassion to all throughout the pandemic.
During the most testing times, he has been able to keep the young people he works with – some of whom were struggling to cope with isolation, anxiety and fear – engaged, motivated, and inspired.
