ISE Award Winners 2026

ISE Awards 2026 Winners and Finalists

 

We are proud to announce the ISE Award Winners 2026, celebrating outstanding excellence across the ISE community. With 113 entries submitted across 13 specialisms in attraction, recruitment and development, competition was exceptionally strong.

From these entries, our expert judging panel selected 54 finalists, from which this year’s winners emerged - organisations and individuals truly raising standards in student recruitment and development.

Congratulations to all the ISE Awards 2026 finalists, highly commended and winning organisations below.

Check out the photos from the event at the bottom of the page.

Early Talent Changemaker of the Year

Sponsored by 

 

• Clare Power, Police Now - Winner 
• Nofi Balogun, Lloyds Banking Group  
• Phil Sartain, Aon
• Frankie Dadzie, Linklaters Business Services 

 

Most Successful Early Careers Strategy

Sponsored by 

 

• Nationwide Building Society - Winners 
• The Coca-Cola Company - Highly Commended 
• Police Now 
• HSBC  
• Rolls-Royce in partnership with AMS 

 

 

Recruitment Category

Best Innovation in Assessment & Selection

Sponsored by 

 

• Grant Thornton in partnership with Neurosight - Winners 
• EDF UK in partnership with Arctic Shores - Highly Commended 
• Virgin Media O2 in partnership with Neurosight 
• BlackRock 

 

Best Innovation in Early Talent Attraction

Sponsored by 

 

• Howden - Winners

• Linklaters 

• Lloyds Banking Group in partnership with FourthWall 

 

Outstanding Schools and Colleges Engagement Approach

Sponsored by

 

• Lloyds Banking Group - Winners 

• Kainos Software - Highly Commended 

• Pathway CTM in partnership with AWE 

• The School Outreach Company in partnership with KPMG

 

Outstanding Offer to Onboarding Experience

sponsored by

 

• NatWest Group in partnership with Eli Onboarding - Winners 
• Rolls-Royce in partnership with AMS - Highly Commended 

• Accenture 

• HSBC

 

Outstanding Pathways to Early Careers

Sponsored by 

 

• Lloyds Banking Group - Winners 

• National Energy System Operator - Highly Commended 

• ScottishPower in partnership with Amberjack 

• Accenture 

 

Talent Development Programmes category

Outstanding Graduate Development Programme

Sponsored by 

 

 

• National Energy System Operator - Winners 

• Raytheon UK - Highly Commended 

• LHH 

• Neueda in partnership with HSBC 

• Skyscanner 

 

Outstanding Apprenticeship Development Programme

Sponsored by 

 

• HSBC - Winners 

• Lloyds Banking Group - Highly Commended 

• First Intuition 

 

Outstanding Emerging or Alternative Talent Programme

Sponsored by 

 

• Howden - Winners 

• Skyscanner - Highly Commended 

• Rolls-Royce in partnership with AMS 

• Aon 

 

Making a Difference Awards

Outstanding Dedication to EDI in Early Talent 

Sponsored by 

 

• Tesco in partnership with Group GTI - Winners 

• HSBC 

• Lloyds Banking Group 

• Police Now 

• Pinsent Masons in partnership with Amberjack 

 

Sustainability & Social Impact in Early Talent

Sponsored by 

 

• Howden - Winners 
• Babcock 
• Lloyds Banking Group 
• The School Outreach Company in partnership with Virgin Media O2 

 

Collaboration for Impact in Early Talent

Sponsored by 

 

• Birmingham City University in partnership with Aston University, University College Birmingham, University of Birmingham, National Careers Service, Department for Work and Pensions, Birmingham and Solihull Jobcentre Plus - Winners 

• Vistry Group - Highly Commended 

• Connectr Early Engagement (Discover Finance) 

• Lloyds Banking Group in partnership with FouthWall 

• Uptree in partnership with JPMorganChase 

 

 

Contact 

For general awards enquiries on the ISE Awards, please contact events@ise.org.uk