The annual Wales HR Awards has become a diary marker for Welsh businesses over recent years, recognising and celebrating the hard work and commitment carried out by in-house teams, consultants and the HR industry as a whole.

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Created by leading recruitment specialists Acorn and commercial law firm Darwin Gray, the Wales HR Awards is the annual flagship event of the Wales HR Network; the country’s leading networking platform for HR professionals.

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This year, the Wales HR Awards brought together over 350 people to celebrate and acknowledge this often-under-appreciated profession. For 2019, fourteen winners will be announced in a glittering black-tie ceremony on Friday 22 March at the prestigious Exchange Hotel in Cardiff - including an overall winner of the coveted HR Star award. Several new categories have been announced for 2019, such as ‘Best HR Initiative’. The full list of categories includes:

1. Best HR Initiative (Sponsored by Human Resourcing Ltd)
2. HR Team of the Year (Sponsored by Bowen Eldridge)
3. Independent HR Consultant of the year (Sponsored by Orchard)
4. HR Director of the year (Sponsored by Quantum Advisory)
5. Best HR professional – Financial / Professional Services (Sponsored by Sweetmans and Partners)
6. Employer of the year (Sponsored by Capital Law)
7. HR Apprentice / Assistant / Trainee of the year
8. Best use of the Welsh Language
9. Best HR Professional - Public/Third Sector
10. Best HR Professional - Digital/IT (sponsored by ActivPeople HR)
11. Best HR Professional - Manufacturing/Engineering
12. Best HR Professional - Built Environment
13. Best HR Professional - Hospitality/Sports
14. HR Star Award

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Kelly Mordecai of Tai Tarian won 2018’s HR Star award. Kelly was chosen by the judges as ‘the winner of winners’ for her outstanding contribution to HR.

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When asked about what the award meant to Kelly, she said: “HR Star has given me a raised profile externally and I have had a few invitations to step into the public speaking arena to tell my story and share the successes we have had... This has been a great opportunity not only for me personally but also for the organisation to share and celebrate its success.

“I have met so many more people and connected with people I probably would not have come across so it has been great building a different network.”

Kelly added: “The award has also lit another spark in me I am excited about what is next, it has been great to be recognised for the hard work and challenges over the past few years... but I am not the finished article... I still want to learn, grow and achieve new things... the journey continues…but the awards have also given be more confidence in myself to continue to strive.”

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It is free to enter the awards and it is possible to enter more than one category and to either nominate or self-nominate. The entry deadline is Friday 7 December 2018.

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Finalists will be announced at the end of January and will be offered 1 complimentary place each to the awards dinner on 22 March.

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