20 Mar 2012
Gill Marsden, Business Development Director at NIS Limited has received the fourth Cogent SSC Award for Outstanding Leadership in Nuclear Skills.
Gill joined the company in late 2008 as Head of Business Development and was appointed as Business Development Director in 2011, where she has consistently excelled and shown outstanding leadership in the area of skills, even though her core function does not include Skills Development. Given this commitment to going well beyond the “call of duty” Gill Marsden stood out to win the Award for Outstanding Leadership in Skills.
The prestigious Award was one of several handed out at an Awards Dinner organised by The National Skills Academy for Nuclear and Cogent SSC, on March 22nd at the Palace Hotel in Manchester.
The Cogent Outstanding Leadership in Skills Award recognises an individual who has demonstrated outstanding commitment to ensuring that the UK nuclear sector has the skills it needs to continue to be a world-class industry. The judges were looking for someone who had gone beyond their job description.
This was certainly the case for Gill; in early 2009 Gill developed and introduced a formal Corporate Social Responsibility programme into NIS. As part of this Gill developed a strand on people - with the stated aim for NIS to be the employer of choice within the communities in which it operates.
Gill put in place a vision that the organisation would recognise all its employees as individuals; treat them with respect and ensure they have a safe and rewarding working environment. This CSR plan commits the organisation to “providing competent management, whose actions are just, ethical and supportive of employees’ family obligations, and promotes a workplace where achievements are recognised and rewarded, and communications are inclusive.”
Gill was instrumental in the development and implementation of the NIS Skills Strategy which saw key outcomes including:
- Signing of the Skills Pledge
- Planning the application of the IIP standards
- Investing in Apprenticeship recruitment
- Engaging in a strategy to encourage Business Improvements
- Engaging in a strategy to improve Leadership and Management skills throughout the organisation
- Setting up and supporting a STEM ambassador team of 30 staff who have supported local schools and colleges as well as participating in major events in Manchester and Cumbria
Gill also ensured that NIS was one of the first SMEs to implement the Nuclear Skills Passport and has been instrumental in its successful application across the company. Gill has given presentations to other supply chain companies at a number of different forums in the sector to share experience and knowledge of the Nuclear Skills Passport, encouraging the adoption of this important national scheme.
Gill Marsden, Business Development Director, NIS said: “It is an absolute honour to receive this award, especially when I know it has been considered and awarded by my peers in the nuclear industry. It really means a lot, not only to me personally but to everyone at NIS, who have supported me in such an enthusiastic and professional manner. I would love to think that our Skills programme could be emulated by other organisations as the difference we could collectively make to the skills profile of our industry is enormous.”
Cogent CEO, Joanna Woolf said: “as usual Cogent received many outstanding nominations for this leadership award and selecting a winner was a difficult task. However, Gill’s peers made clear that this Award should go to her; her enthusiasm for the industry is infectious and boundless and she takes part in numerous voluntary activities around communities in the UK to support the nuclear industry’s skills development. Above all she is a natural coach and mentor, as well as a fantastic ambassador for the promotion of the nuclear industry as a whole. This Award is much deserved; Gill has certainly made skills a priority both within her own organisation and across the wider sector ”
Jean Llewellyn, Chief Executive of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear said:
“There are many shining examples of people who go beyond the call of duty to promote skills both in terms of their own organisations and to the sector as a whole. The Outstanding Leadership in Skills category really enables these people to be highlighted. Gill is a very deserving of this accolade as she demonstrates really outstanding leadership in all that she does and the style of skills leadership this award recognises. I would like to personally congratulate Gill on this achievement and I am sure that her unwavering commitment to skills development will continue to grow.”
For further information regarding the Awards Dinner, please go to: www.cogent-ssc.com/Nuclear_Dinner
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