The BASE awards are an opportunity to celebrate the wonderful work that takes place across our Supported Employment community.

Whether you work in education, represent a large employer, part of a small team or you’re a supported employment leader,  BASE wants to be able to recognise your achievements within the inclusive recruitment sector. 

Each category will highlight the best practice taking place across Britain utilising the supported employment model, to change and enrich the lives of disabled, neurodivergent and disadvantaged people through good employment.

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Large Employer (over 1000 employees) 

This is an opportunity to recognise a large employer who has shown Disability Confidence leadership in action.  To qualify for this award, the Employer must have embedded disability inclusion into their policies, recruitment processes and training.

1. Provide an example of a policy that has disability inclusion embedded.
2. Provide an example of how the recruitment process has been reviewed, amended to be more inclusive- this could include providing work trials, work experience, working interviews, questions beforehand.
3. Provide examples of how the Supported Employment model has been embedded into their workforce planning, this could be Supported Internships, Open employment, Apprenticeships. Showcasing a range of employment opportunities.

Submit one policy, plus a short statement of 100 words explaining how the recruitment process has been amended and a video no more than 5 minutes long showcasing the work the employer has done to increase the numbers of disabled people working for them and the impact on their business

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Small/Micro Employer (less than 1000 employees) 

This is an opportunity to celebrate those smaller employers, who are making a difference one person at a time, within their local communities. This category recognises employers with less than 1000 employees, who have embraced disability inclusion and embedded it into local recruitment.

1. Provide a short statement from the Employer about why disability inclusion is important to them (Max 100 words) 

2. Short statement about the impact this inclusion has had on individuals and communities – (Max 100 words) 

3. Short video maximum of 5 minutes that show cases the work the employer has done to increase the numbers of disabled people working for them and the impact on their business. (Max 5 mins) 

 

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Supported Employment Leader of the Year

This is an opportunity to celebrate the leadership of an individual who has supported a team to embed best practice, innovation and/or clear leadership through a challenging time.

This award recognises the ability of an individual to create a supportive workplace culture, rather than the position someone holds within an organisation. 

 

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Practitioner of the Year 

This is an opportunity to celebrate an individual who works within a Supported Employment team and has gone above and beyond in promoting inclusive recruitment both locally and nationally.

The award will celebrate an individual who demonstrates partnership working and innovative practice and has achieved high numbers of well-matched employment outcomes for disabled people.

Large Supported Employment Team of the Year 

This is an opportunity to celebrate the collective success of a large team of 30 plus people working in supported employment, who have achieved high numbers of good quality employment outcomes for disabled, neurodivergent or disadvantaged people.

As part of the nomination, you will need to demonstrate the role that all team members have played in the achievement and the subsequent impact resulting from the team effort.

1. Provide a statement about the team and demonstrate the impact that the team has had, including numbers of people supported into work and how this relates to high aspirational careers. (Max 100 words) 

2. Short video maximum of 5 minutes that show cases the teams experiences and why they are proud of the work they have achieved, including the experience of all stakeholders. (Max 5 mins)

 

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Small Supported Employment/Social Enterprise Team of the Year 

This is an opportunity to celebrate a small but highly effective team, who on limited resources have high ambition in promoting inclusive recruitment within their community.

You will need to demonstrate how the team is utilising limited resources for the greatest impact and the partnerships developed to drive this ambition.

 

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Innovation of the Year, sponsored by Glean

This is an opportunity to celebrate the huge innovation that happens across the Supported Employment sector. From tech programmes to co-produced resources, this is a chance to show, how through innovation, you are driving up engagement within the Supported Employment work.

1. Provide a short statement on what innovation you have developed, the partnerships involved and the impact so far. Also include how you plan to use this innovation to continue to improve employment outcomes for disabled, neurodivergent and disadvantaged people. (Max 100 words) 

2. Short video that showcases the innovation in action, the impact on people, including key stakeholders. (Max 5 mins) 

 

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Learner of the Year sponsored by Inclusive Trading CIC 

This award is sponsored by Inclusive Trading CIC and the celebrates the individual who has taken the learning across of all the Supported Employment courses and put it into action within their service.

The learner of the year is nominated by the Inclusive Trading CIC associates, who need to demonstrate how the learner has applied their knowledge into action.  

 

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Social Value of the Year 

This is an opportunity for organisations to demonstrate how they have embedded social value at the heart of a contract.

This could be a business that has used the Public Social Value act to drive genuine inclusive recruitment or a provider that embedded social value into a contract to drive employment outcomes.

1. Provide a short statement that describes the contract and how social value was embedded at the heart. Also describe the impact of the social value and what that means for disabled, neurodivergent and disadvantaged people. (Max 100 words) 

2. Short video that showcases the work that has been achieved through the contract and how this learning can be shared with others to promote great social value as part of contracting.  (Max 5 mins) 

 

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David Grainger Award, sponsored by Outshine Telephone Training Specialists 

This award is presented to a disabled person who inspires other people to have high aspirations in employment, who has changed perceptions around what disabled people can achieve or progressed in their chosen career. This award looks to celebrate the achievements that disabled people make in breaking down the barriers for other disabled people entering the labour market. The nominee needs to have a been in a paid role for a minimum of six months and an advocate of good careers for others.

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