Fourteen employers, universities and industry suppliers were crowned winners at the ISE Awards 2023.

The great and the good from the world of student recruitment and development turned out for the ISE Awards 2023.

Employers, universities and industry suppliers were rewarded across 15 categories for their commitment to best practice in strategy, marketing, recruitment and development as well as work experience and diversity. Rolls-Royce, Lloyds Banking Group and HSBC all took home multiple awards.

The glittering gala dinner, hosted by comedian Michael Akadiri, was a fitting end to the ISE’s annual two-day Student Recruitment Conference in Manchester.

This year saw a bumper number of organisations up for the top spots. Seventy-four judges from the world of student recruitment and development took time out of their day jobs to work through more than 160 entries. These were whittled down to a shortlist of 66 finalists and finally 15 winners.

Winners of ISE Awards 2023

Best Overall Emerging Talent Strategy – Morrisons supported by Amberjack

Judges: This winning early talent strategy was linked to the organisational strategy. There was evidence of how the resulting impacts, over time, were clearly demonstrated.

Best School Leaver/Apprenticeship Strategy – Lloyds Banking Group 

Judges: This entry had top-down support from the CEO and a holistic approach to the strategy for new and existing employees. It covered all the core aspects of a programme strategy with the added innovation of considering neurodiversity, apprenticeship ambassadors and a ‘Three Days a CEO’ challenge.

Highly commended: NFU Mutual

Best Single Purpose Attraction Activation – Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in Partnership with Sanctuary Graduates

Judges: This showcased a campaign that had ambitious but clear objectives. The multi-faceted initiative made efficient use of a range of attraction techniques all of which were comprehensively delivered. We were unanimously impressed by the way both organisations worked together on an incredibly short timescale to deliver some really tangible results.

Best Innovation in Attraction – Lloyds Banking Group supported by Experience

Judges: This entrant had developed a genuinely compelling attraction proposition, augmented by features such as gamification and VR, and provided a lot of rich insight for potential applicants. It had good evidence of the impact with material increases in applications since the proposition launch. There is also scope to enhance the accessibility of the proposition in the future, particularly for neurodiverse and visually impaired applicants.

Highly commended: LCR Grad Scheme in Partnership with RMP Enterprise

Best Attraction Campaign – Accenture

Judges: This organisation delivered an emotive and authentic campaign that delivered impressive results, with the team bringing the roles and culture to life using internal talent. There was a clear link to the vision, and the multiple elements were very well executed, innovative and connected.

Highly commended: Homes England

Outstanding University Partnership with an Employer and/or Supplier – Manchester Metropolitan University

Judges: An impressive and highly focussed work-based initiative delivered at scale and as part of the co-curriculum, solving a skills shortage in the digital sector. The submission clearly articulated the vision, challenge, flexibility and adaptability required to prioritise this initiative for the benefit of both students and employers while clearly showing both quantitative and qualitative impact measures.

Highly commended: Sheffield Hallam University

Best University & Employer Engagement Strategy – University of East London

Judges: This was well articulated and clearly part of a wider ‘Vision 2028’ strategy. It was genuinely innovative with multiple, complimentary and aligned initiatives delivering demonstrable impact.  It ensured that students from all backgrounds are inspired, connected and able to thrive as evidenced by the levels of student engagement and graduate success in the programmes.  This is particularly impressive given the winner’s geographical context.

Highly commended: City, University of London

Best Assessment and Selection Process – Nestlé Supported by Cappfinity

Judges: We appreciated the bespoke nature of the assessment process – how it told a story and gave insight into the different roles.  Feedback was provided to applicants throughout and assessment was anchored in the skills required in the future, rather than the capabilities of the incumbent population. The entry also had an impressive equality, diversity and inclusion impact.

Highly commended: Barclays supported by SHL

Commitment to Improving Diversity through Student Resourcing – NHS South, Central & West Supported by Neurosight

Judges: This was genuinely innovative and unique, and the impact was standout.  We were excited at the potential this approach may have to inspire similar progress across the industry, even for smaller programmes and organisations with modest budgets.

Highly commended: HSBC

Best Work Experience, Internship or Placement Programme – CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP

Judges: A bold, brave and best practice! This programme gives students from lower socio-economic backgrounds the chance to gain varied experience (within the organisation and beyond) at a critical point in their future career decision making, broadening their horizons with many opportunities available post academia. This is a trailblazing initiative that we hope drives change in the industry.

Highly commended: Centrica

Outstanding Employer and Supplier Recruitment Partnership – Rolls-Royce in partnership with Alexander Mann Solutions

Judges: It was clear they had developed, improved and strengthened their partnership year-on-year, evidenced through the impact on the entire recruitment and selection process. This included hiring manager experience, process efficiencies, the diversity of offers made and the reduction of declined offers in an increasing competitive external market. It was clear they have created an engaging and impactful approach together.

Highly commended: Lloyds Banking Group & Blackbridge Communications

Best Graduate Development Programme – Unlocked Graduates

Judges: Impressive strides to change the perception of working in the areas of work across England and Wales. They used their graduate programme to not only attract, develop and retain great talent but more importantly change stereotype cultures with immediate and impressive business and societal impacts to securing job offers. The impact and experience graduates had was a credit to the design and delivery of the programme, making them a clear and incredibly worthy winner!

Highly commended: HSBC

Best School Leaver and/or Apprentice Development Programme – Boeing

Judges: A clear 360 vision across the company and wider industry, demonstrating clear stakeholder buy-in across the organisation.  By referencing apprentices as the lifeblood of the organisation, it was clear that celebrating success, supporting the local community and supporting wellbeing were critical to their programme.

Highly commended: Mace

Best Student Onboarding and Induction Activities Programme – HSBC

Judges: This organisation backed up a holistic vision with a very rich content offering. The platform integration across different channels, and from recruitment into induction, ensures a consistent and recruit-centric experience that delivered an impressive impact. It was great to see a strong commitment to connecting new hires into employee network groups to increase support and adjustments

Outstanding Employer and Supplier Development Partnership – Jardine Matheson and Development Beyond Learning  

Judges: A strong vision and innovative.  This is clearly a strong partnership that has been built over the years. They work in collaboration to achieve significant impact in retention, performance and engagement.

A huge thanks goes to all of our award sponsors who we couldn’t do this event without.

You will find case studies from this year’s winners on Insights over the coming months. Read case studies from last year’s ISE Award winners.