Connectr Awards 2026: meet the winners

On Thursday 12th November, we gathered at Wild by Tart in London to celebrate the people and teams doing brilliant work on Connectr this year. Judges from across talent acquisition, early careers and inclusion scored every nomination. Here are the winners, and why they won.

Individual awards

Advocate of the Year: Karishma Kumari, British Airways

Engineering Supply Chain Apprentice

Karishma joined Speedbird-Z, British Airways' talent pooling platform, in November 2025 and has supported over 147 users since. She volunteered to become a mentor because she wanted to be a relatable role model for aspiring female engineers, and the feedback shows it is working.

Her impact reaches well beyond the platform. Through 2025 she volunteered every month for partner school and college visits, Student Ambassador training and large careers events, including Farnborough International Airshow. She also mentored young people from disadvantaged backgrounds on the Get Started in Engineering initiative with The King's Trust.

"I'm SO glad I got to meet Karishma in person, she's been so helpful with my application and as an Asian girl who also wants to be an Engineer one day, it is helpful to see it is possible."

Mentor of the Year: Eileen Cheng, AtkinsRéalis

Senior Process Engineer

Over the past year, Eileen mentored 41 people across 206 messages, with a 99% reply rate and 14 five-star reviews. Mentees describe her as "super helpful", and say her advice arrives promptly.

What set her apart was how accessible she made mentoring feel. Her profile is clear, concise and welcoming, so prospective mentees see quickly who she is and how she can help. That simple approach built a strong level of engagement, and made her a trusted source of guidance for a large number of mentees.

"Through her consistent engagement, high-quality support, and ability to create an approachable mentoring experience, Eileen has become a trusted source of guidance for a large number of mentees."

Early Careers Champion: Ellie Mayall, Financial Conduct Authority

Senior Associate, Retail Banking Policy

Ellie is the FCA's top mentor on Connectr, with a 100% response rate across her mentees. She helps bridge the gap between university and work, so people arrive feeling welcomed, informed and confident.

She shares what she knows at early careers induction days and Discover the FCA days for new graduates and apprentices. She is also a champion of inclusion, playing an active role in the FCA's internal Balance Network to challenge gender discrimination and promote gender equality.

"Ellie's initiative, kindness and impact make her a deserving nominee, as reflected in the appreciation and brilliant feedback she regularly receives from both mentees and her colleagues."

Platform Manager of the Year: Kerry George, Thales

Future Talent Delivery Lead

Kerry manages two Connectr platforms for Thales, Future Talent Pre-Boarding and Future Talent Pooling. Her work helped shape Thales' decision to add a third platform for the Armed Forces community, and she is now supporting a fourth to streamline onboarding across Thales UK.

Monthly content releases keep the experience fresh, and she recruited nearly 100 buddies who answer close to 100 messages a month with a 99% response rate. The results speak for themselves: a 99% sign-up rate among this year's new recruits, a 24% increase in message volume, and a 37% conversion from pre-boarding to talent pooling. Applicants engaged through Connectr are fourteen times more likely to be offered a role.

Team awards

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Candidate Experience Excellence: Cognizant

Early Careers Talent Pool

Cognizant launched its Connectr Talent Pooling platform with a clear purpose: to give every candidate, regardless of background, the support and insight they need to succeed.

Across more than 1,000 candidates, those who engaged with Connectr first were 6.5 times more likely to receive a job offer. Connectr candidates made up 31% of the pipeline but accounted for 74.5% of all offers, with offer ratios ranging from 4.4x to 19.6x across four hiring pathways.

The inclusion data matters just as much. Candidates from state schools were up to 4.6 times more likely to receive an offer than those from independent schools. Free-school-meal-eligible candidates were 1.3 times more likely to receive an offer than their peers, and engaged with mentors more often. One candidate described the platform as "clear, realistic" preparation for a career at Cognizant.

Pre-boarding Excellence: Costain

Costain Together

Costain Together is now in its second year. From 120 offers across graduate and apprentice schemes, only 5 were declined and 4 rescinded before start date, leaving 111 offer holders on track to join. New starters achieved a 96% task completion rate, above the Connectr average of 93%, rated platform content 4.86 out of 5, and have 32 Ambassadors from across the business ready to share what working at Costain is like.

The detail that stands out is what Costain did when feedback showed a gap. New starters wanted to know what to expect on day one, but day one on an HS2 site looks very different from day one in an office. So line managers now phone each new starter the week before they start, prompted by a platform reminder, to explain exactly where to go and what to expect.

"I felt welcomed and part of a family, rather than an outsider joining." New starter, Costain Together

IntentSignals® Excellence: GSK

Get Ahead

GSK's approach to IntentSignals® starts with a different question. Not "do you want to apply?" but "are you informed, prepared and ready to apply?"

The Summer Internship pilot introduced a purposeful pause before assessment, giving candidates transparency about the process, the time commitment and what to expect, plus space to reflect without those reflections being assessed. Despite a 60% year-on-year increase in applications, assessment volume rose by only 30%, and 25% of eligible candidates who encountered the Intent Journey self-selected out before assessment. 94.5% rated the content 4 or 5 out of 5, and candidates from first-generation university backgrounds welcomed the clarity.

"It means that as a candidate I can assess the situation and act accordingly." Candidate, GSK Get Ahead

Best Use of Connectr: British Airways

Speedbird-Z

Speedbird-Z is British Airways' student platform, embedded across its whole emerging talent strategy rather than used for a single campaign. Content, mentoring, candidate preparation and community all work together in one connected experience, with over 25,000 active student users.

Students who engaged with Speedbird-Z were six times more likely to be hired onto BA's apprenticeships and three times more likely to be hired onto its graduate roles. The most creative element is who the platform serves. The Parent and Teacher Zone gives parents, carers and educators the information they need to support young people considering a career at British Airways.

Connectr's Choice Award

Skanska

Our bonus award is chosen by the Connectr team rather than the judges.

Skanska is recognised for their long-standing relationship with Connectr. Their approach demonstrates the strategic value of early talent as a testing ground, with wider impact across social value and experienced hires. It also reflects a genuine passion for supporting young people in the UK into careers.

Congratulations to everyone

Thank you to every nominee and to our judges Alex Norman, Robin Morle, Tricia Lucas-Clarke and Lesley Hoile.