Tension mounts for Southend business as National final of Remploy's prestigious annual awards contest draws near
5th October 2007
(L-R) Paul Hillman, KeyMed's Corporate Director with Remploy's Roy Easthope Remploy is the country’s leading provider of employment services for disabled people and this year’s awards, launched in January, attracted hundreds of entries from businesses and individuals across Britain.
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 KeyMed Ltd took the medium category in the south of England region and so will now be vying for the national title at the grand final to be held at the Victoria Plaza hotel in London on October 15.
Richard Farleigh, entrepreneur and a former “dragon” on the BBC 2 Dragon’s Den TV show, will be on hand to present the awards which recognise outstanding employers and individuals who have made significant efforts to actively encourage diversity within their organisations.
The awards, which this year are being held in association with The Times, were open to companies of all sizes, from small businesses to large, national organisations. Previous national winners have included RBS and BT.
Awards are on offer to business 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).
Separate awards will also be made to the Outstanding Business Individual and to the Outstanding Jobcentre Plus Individual.
Individuals and businesses vying for an award in the Small, Medium and Large categories had to compete at the regional finals, with the winners going through to the national final while the shortlisted firms competing for the Learning, Retention and Innovation awards will be judged solely at the London event.
Richard Farleigh said: “Remploy’s motto is ‘putting ability first’ and that is something all employers would do well to heed.
“By concentrating on the abilities of potential employees and not any disabilities they may have means businesses can make the most of the skills pool and so flourish in ever increasingly competitive markets.
“These awards are important because they both recognise employers who demonstrate best practice in the recruitment of disabled people and encourage others to follow suit.”
The finalists for this year’s awards are:
Scotland:
1. Small - City Facilities Management, Glasgow.
2. Medium - Holiday Inn, Edinburgh.
3. Large - beCogent, Airdrie.
4. Business Person Individual - Ian McKechnie, Motherwell Pension
Centre.
5. Business Person Individual - Elaine Harvey, Tesco, St Rollox, Glasgow
North:
6. Medium, Retention - Aspire Housing, Staffordshire.
7. Large - Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council.
8. Jobcentre Plus Individual - Robert Cummins, Southern House Jobcentre Plus, Leeds.
9. Business Person Individual - Hilary Gibson, Child Support Agency, Birkenhead.
Midlands:
10. Small - Andy's Kars Ltd, Cambridge.
11. Medium - Bradgate Bakery, Leicester.
12. Large, Innovation - Leicester City Council, Leicester.
13. Jobcentre Plus Individual - David Martin, Kidderminster.
14. Business Person Individual - Kevin Ritchie, Royal Bank of Scotland, Kegworth, Derbyshire.
Wales:
15. Small - Bespoke Kitchens, Swansea.
16. Medium - T D Williams, Ammanford.
17. Large, Retention - Dyfed-Powys Police, Carmarthen.
18. Jobcentre Plus Individual - Christopher Evans MBE, Ebbw Vale.
19. Business Person - Jeffrey Lloyd Jones, TC Contractors, Tadworth, Surrey.
South:
20. Small - The Mall Galleries - Food Court, Bristol.
21. Medium - KeyMed (Medical & Industrial Equipment) Ltd, Essex.
22. Large - Civil Service (Royal Navy), Portsmouth.
23. Jobcentre Plus Individual - Julia Burden, Bristol Central.
24. Business Person Individual - Glynis Morris, Gloucestershire County Council.
London:
25. Medium - National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
26. Jobcentre Plus Individual - Bob Jones, Fulham Jobcentre Plus.
Learning, Retention, Innovation:
27. Scotland. Learning - Morgan Stanley, Glasgow.
28. South. Learning - Foxes Academy, Minehead.
29. North. Retention - The Oldham College, Oldham.
Remploy chief executive Bob Warner said: “Our Leading the Way awards scheme is now in its 11th year and is going from strength to strength.
“Many employers now see it as a key event on their calendars and the ever rising standard of entries each year shows how much they recognise the benefits of employing disabled people.”
