Later this month the winners of this year’s s1jobs Recruitment Awards will be announced and the finalists have already been chosen.

The outstanding shortlisted candidates and companies from across the full spectrum of recruitment and HR, must now wait until April 14 to find out if they have won.

This is the 10th year that the awards have been held, but the trophies handed out this year will have added significance, coming as they do after two years of very tough conditions for everyone in the recruitment industry.

The challenges may not yet be over, but as this year’s group of finalists have proven, there is no shortage of experienced and dedicated professionals willing to adapt to the changing landscape in order to deliver an exceptional service to staff and employers.

Amongst those making the shortlist this year is Burness Paull, one of Scotland’s largest law firms. It is up for awards in two categories, ‘Best Diversity and Inclusion Initiative’ sponsored by Quarriers and ‘Best Early Careers Employer’ sponsored by Business Stream.

Emma Smith is Inclusion and Wellbeing Manager at the firm, where a whole host of measures have been introduced in order to widen access to the profession for people from ethnic minorities and socio-economically deprived areas.

“Many traditional entrants into law have contacts in the profession, but if you are the first person in your family to go to university, then you are unlikely to have that advantage,” she says.

From using contextual recruitment, which reframes academic achievement; setting up summer schools and mentoring programmes and providing training in soft skills, Burness Paull is making impressive strides forward at levelling the playing field.

“The result is that we now have a diverse group of young recruits and all of them are invested in opening up the legal profession to as many people as possible.”

Managing the volume of vacancies that a large institution such as Napier University generates, is one of the biggest challenges facing Muniba Khan, but this Senior Talent and Recruitment Consultant with the University has made such an impact since she joined last August, that she has been nominated for the Shona McKenzie Shine Award, sponsored by Volvo, that will be presented to a stand-out star of the recruitment industry who consistently goes that extra mile in order to get results.

“We have around 100 vacancies at any one time here and it is an employees market at the moment, but I am determined that every candidate has the best possible experience and that we find creative ways of getting the right person for the job,” says Muniba.

“I couldn’t achieve what I do if I wasn’t part of a hugely-committed team and I think we are all looking forward to just celebrating at the awards ceremony later this month, regardless of whether or not we win.”

It’s a sentiment that is echoed by many of this year’s finalists, who are relishing the opportunity to meet with friends and colleagues throughout the industry and have something to celebrate after so much hard work.

Meanwhile Jim Gillespie, CEO of Kibble, who have been shortlisted as Best Charity Employer, said it will be ‘fantastic’ to be at the awards ceremony.

“At Kibble we have cultivated a learning culture with a continued commitment to investing in internal training and development to ensure our staff progress as Kibble evolves to meet the everchanging needs of young people. 

 “We believe teamwork, collaboration and an open dialogue allows us to develop a workforce which shares the same values and dedication to improving the lives of young people in Scotland, which in turn brings a sense of fulfilment and helps create a higher standard of care and professionalism throughout the sector as a whole.

“The training, support and professional development offered to our Staff-In-Training, as well as our experienced colleagues, is unmatched within the sector. We actively encourage our staff to further their own qualifications and have an in-house learning and development team to help guide staff at all levels on how they can upskill and expand their knowledge in child and youth care, and beyond.”

Gavin Mochan, Managing Director, s1 said: “The countdown to this year’s awards is now well underway and I look forward to welcoming all the finalists, and the wider recruitment community, to the ceremony on 14 April. It will be a very welcome opportunity for people within the industry to come together and share experiences from throughout the pandemic.”

The awards ceremony will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Glasgow and there is still time to reserve a table at Scotland’s most prestigious recruitment event.

Full details of how to book can be found on the event website.