18th October 2007

Julia Burden is celebrating after beating off the challenge of hundreds of entrants to be named one of the best of British at the final of Remploy’s 11th annual Leading the Way awards.

Julia from Bristol won the Jobcentre Plus Individual category at the final in London and was presented with the coveted award by entrepreneur and former Dragon’s Den TV show “dragon” Richard Farleigh.

Remploy is the country’s leading provider of employment services for disabled people and the prestigious awards, run this year in association with The Times, recognise outstanding employers and individuals who have made significant efforts to actively encourage diversity within their organisations.

Julia was one of eight businesses and individuals honoured at the awards final at the Victoria Plaza hotel in London (on Oct 15) and she was delighted to have come out top of entrants from across Britain.

She said: “I was surprised yet delighted to win this award. To me I am just doing what I get paid for, but it’s always nice when you receive some recognition for your efforts. Winning this award is beyond anything I expected though and I’m extremely proud and flattered.”

Rachel Jones, District Manager for Jobcentre Plus, was equally proud. She said “I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award than Julia. She has helped so many of our customers, many with health problems or disabilities, successfully move into sustained employment or training. There is no doubt she has made a real different to these people’s lives.”

Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East, who presented Julia with her regional award, also attended the national awards ceremony in London to see Julia win. She said: ”Its fantastic that Julia has been recognised for her work in promoting the benefits of a diverse workforce. She should be extremely proud of herself for winning the national final of such prestigious awards.”

Remploy chief executive Bob Warner said in announcing the award that the judges had chosen Julia because they recognised that she had first hand experience of disability and made extra effort to meet individual needs. She was commended for being an outstanding networker who was able to impact the widest range of people on a variety of key issues.

The initial contenders were whittled down to an early shortlist and then six regional finals earlier this month narrowed the field down even further but Julia took the Jobcentre Plus award in the south of England region to qualify for the national final.

Apart from the Jobcentre Plus Individual category won by Julia, a separate award was also made to the Outstanding Business Individual of the year.

Awards were also on offer businesses in six categories, namely for Learning, Retention, Innovation and for Small (fewer than 100 employees), Medium (101 – 1,000 employees) and Large organisations (1,000+ employees).

Richard Farleigh told guests that it made business sense for companies to be inclusive and a caring working environment generated respect.

He added: “We should be looking at all angles to get the right people. It is the mark of a good business that it is able to do that.”

Mr Warner told the audience at the awards: “It is always a privilege to applaud those businesses and individuals that go the extra mile in the employment of disabled people.

“Thanks to the example that many of you in this room have set, more employers are understanding the benefits of employing disabled people and helping to create a level playing field for disabled job seekers.”

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