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With a record 423 entries received from organisations across the UK, competition to be named a Finalist was truly exceptional. And today, the British Training Awards Judging panel is proud to reveal its 2026 Winners!
Powered by employee insight platform, New Possible, the British Training Awards sets out to discover and celebrate the teams and individuals who are passionate about L&D's role in building a thriving workforce. Organisations taking part this year ranged from start-up pioneers to tech unicorns, global titans, not-for-profits and everything in between. Irrespective of organisation size, industry or resources, all Winners and Finalists shared how their initiatives are transforming L&D and delivering tangible value for their organisations.
A huge thanks to the British Training Awards 2026 all-star judging panel for reviewing the entries and sharing their expertise:
Paul Buckland-White, Senior Director of Global Learning and Development at Smith+Nephew / Shannon Drew, Director of Learning and Development at IRIS Software Group / Kate Large, Director of Learning & Development at Mitie / Sarah Maclot, Talent & Culture Director, UK & Europe at Doubtless Pet Care Group / Keith McDougall, Global Director of Learning & Development at Bupa / Chris McLaughlin, Head of Academies at Booking.com / Jenny Morgan, Talent & Capability Director at Royal London / Gemma Paterson, Head of Culture Innovation at Lloyds Banking Group / Matt Porter, Head of Learning and Development at Popeyes Louisiana Chicken UK / Prachi Prasad, Global Head of Leadership & Learning Development at dunnhumby / Jodie Pritchard, Director of Learning & Development at Barnardo's / Victoria Shaw, People & Culture at TFE Hotels / Dr Leanne Simpson, Global Director Training & Technical Documentation at Smiths Detection / Thomas Stroppel, Head of Learning and Development at Dishoom / Karen Suddards, Global Learning Manager at Bentley Motors / Dr Paul Taylor-Pitt, OD Consultant and Director at Metamorphosish / Michelle Tindale, Director of Academy & Advisory at UKAS / Danielle Ware, Head of People Development at Busy Bees / Liggy Webb, Author, Presenter and Consultant
And so, without any further ado, the full list of Winners and those awarded Highly Commended are:
Training Initiative of the Year (Private Sector): Dishoom (Highly Commended: AXA Health (in partnership with Estu))
Training Initiative of the Year (Public & Not for Profit): Leeds Museums and Galleries (Leeds City Council) (Highly Commended: The Inspiring Leaders Network)
L&D Experience of the Year: Paragon Skills (Highly Commended: Leonardo Hotels UK & Ireland)
Retraining/Upskilling Initiative of the Year: Nationwide Building Society (Highly Commended: St Austell Brewery and Thrive)
Leadership Development Initiative of the Year (Private Sector): VodafoneThree (Highly Commended: Learnmore)
Leadership Development Initiative of the Year (Public & Not for Profit): Bupa
Learning Culture Initiative of the Year: The School of Life at Work and Arup (Highly Commended: Barnsley College)
Early Careers Initiative of the Year: University of Cambridge Executive and Professional Education and Localized (Highly Commended: HSBC (in partnership with Neueda))
Onboarding Initiative of the Year: Weatherbys Private Bank (Highly Commended: Solvd Together and Deloitte)
Innovation of the Year (Sponsored by Titus): Neuro Massage Training School (Highly Commended: North West London Pathology)
AI in Learning Initiative of the Year (Sponsored by Multiverse): Golin
Awareness Campaign of the Year: Cera Care (Highly Commended: Solvd Together and Vodafone)
Start-Up of the Year: Assemble You
SME of the Year: Watts Sustainability (Highly Commended: Boo Coaching & Consulting)
Apprenticeship Provider of the Year: The Opportunity Provider (Highly Commended: Lifetime Training)
L&D Provider of the Year (<20 employees): Freeformers (Highly Commended: Estu | Highly Commended: Framework Training)
L&D Provider of the Year (20+ employees): The School of Life at Work (Highly Commended: Thrive Learning)
Leader of the Year: Kate Mellor, Head of L&D at Boehringer Ingelheim (Highly Commended: Ashleigh Fenwick, Head of Learning and Talent at The Inn Collection Group)
Rising Star of the Year: James Firman, Learning & Development Partner at Boehringer Ingelheim (Highly Commended: Courtney Larkin, Learning & Development Coordinator at Cumberland Building Society)
L&D Team of the Year (<1,000 employees) (Sponsored by Solvd Together): Fluirse Education (Highly Commended: Paladone)
L&D Team of the Year (1,000+ employees) (Sponsored by Solvd Together): Wickes (in partnership with Freeformers) (Highly Commended: Cygnet)
Financial Services Initiative of the Year: Nationwide Building Society
Professional Services Initiative of the Year: MHR
Hospitality & Leisure Initiative of the Year: St Austell Brewery and Thrive
Not for Profit Initiative of the Year: Ask for Angela (Highly Commended: RSPCA (England & Wales))
Public Sector Initiative of the Year: TEAM Safety Services
Engineering & Manufacturing Initiative of the Year (Sponsored by The Motivation Agency): Gressingham Foods (in partnership with Jarrold Training)
Nate Harwood, Founder of New Possible and the British Training Awards, said: "As we navigate a profound industrial shift, organisations equipping their people with new skills are actively building tomorrow's economy. The British Training Awards celebrate the visionary teams and individuals driving this transformation. Congratulations to all of this year's Winners, Highly Commended and Finalists."
Nationwide Building Society took home two awards on the day, winning Retraining/Upskilling Initiative of the Year and Financial Services Initiative of the Year. The organisation identified an opportunity to improve its Retail Services operational capability and developed a bespoke in-house solution in response: At Our Best. To support its rapid roll-out, professional Performance Coaches were quickly needed. Colleagues at risk of redundancy were reskilled as coaches, leveraging their operational knowledge and guided by a structured framework to support their transition. A three-month rapid upskilling programme, followed by an external qualification, equipped them with core coaching skills and hands-on experience to coach effectively.
The reskilling initiative has resulted in the development of a skilled network of more than 20 Performance Coaches, whose impact on Retail Services capability has delivered an ROI of approximately £12 million. Through this reskilling framework, Nationwide has retained talent, empowered colleagues and created high-quality coaches who are driving meaningful behavioural, cultural and operational improvements, creating lasting organisation-wide impact. Judges praised the initiative's 'demonstrable impact', 'clear metrics' and ability to convert what 'could have delivered a negative cultural impact into a highly positive one'.
VodafoneThree were awarded Leadership Development Initiative of the Year (Private Sector) for their success in addressing a critical business challenge: a lack of a consistent, scalable leadership pipeline and high attrition in entry-level roles. Their objective was clear: to develop high-potential colleagues into confident, capable leaders while reducing attrition, accelerating internal progression and strengthening leadership capability.
To achieve this, they developed a six-month programme that blended face-to-face and virtual learning, supported by experiential learning activities and ongoing manager engagement. Since launching, 316 colleagues have participated across six UK cohorts, with 77% completing the programme. Retention of graduates stands at 91%, with participants 4.5 times less likely to leave the business.
The programme has also accelerated internal mobility, with 72% of graduates progressing into leadership roles. Furthermore, reduced attrition is estimated to have avoided costs of £650,000, while also providing a sustainable, scalable pipeline of future leaders. Judges praised its 'outstanding pipeline impact', with 'clear ROI through reduced attrition and accelerated internal progression'.
Kate Mellor, Head of L&D at Boehringer Ingelheim, took home the highly coveted Leader of the Year award. Kate was commended on many aspects of her leadership, but was particularly recognised for her impact on reducing time-to-competence, developing a digital coaching pathway, and being the 'driving force' behind a responsible, high-impact adoption of AI-enabled learning. Judges praised the 'clear initiatives and areas of leadership' and her 'evident impact across the organisation'.
Over the next few months, New Possible will be profiling Winners and Highly Commended in a 'Sharing Success' series. Stay updated by registering for our newsletter.
Winners were revealed at a special celebration event held in the iconic Grand Hall of the Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden, London, hosted by comedian Lucy Porter. The event featured an interactive session, AI Tycoon, delivered by Solvd Together, and a panel discussion titled Human Intelligence in the Age of AI: The Power of Critical Thinking, moderated by Liggy Webb. Panellists included Kate McLaren, Jodie Pritchard and Thomas Stroppel.
The British Training Awards will return in 2027, continuing to discover and celebrate the teams and individuals shaping the future of learning and development.
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Multiverse: Multiverse helps organisations turn AI investment into workforce capability. Through applied learning and expert coaching, they build data and AI capabilities, drive adoption at scale, and deliver measurable business outcomes.
Titus: Titus empowers people to improve the world through learning. They partner with leading organisations to design and deliver digital learning that genuinely makes a difference — for their people, their organisations, and the communities they serve. They care deeply about their customers, their team, and the impact of their work.
Solvd Together: Solvd Together are Workforce Evolution Designers who believe that to thrive in constant chaos, organisations need to be resilient and adaptive. As an award-winning L&D and Transformation Consultancy, they challenge conventional L&D by combining Systems Thinking, Behavioural Science and Human-centred Design to turn education into evolution, and ideas into impact.
The Motivation Agency: Equips, motivates and gives confidence to the people on the frontline, so brands deliver on the customer promise.
The British Training Awards is powered by New Possible. New Possible helps leaders build healthier organisations by providing meaningful insight that can drive real change. Find out more about our mission or book a demo.
