by Catherine Woods - Wednesday, 10th October 2007 -

A woman who turned around a troubled prison has been named “people’s champion” at the CBI/Real FD 2007 Human Capital awards.

Vicky O’Dea is the director of Ashfield Young Offenders Institute. Until recently, the facility had a reputation for being one of the UK’s most violent prisons.

But O’Dea has helped turn that reputation on its head. She’s introduced educational initiatives – including joint training for staff and inmates – and the privately-managed prison is now described by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons as "a model of what ought to be expected and available to all 15 to 18 year-olds" in custody.

The full list of 2007 Human Capital Awards winners is:

Orange People’s Champion: Vicky O’Dea, Director, HMP & YOI Ashfield

People’s Organisation (supported by Investors in People): Asda Stores.
The judges said, "Asda is a retailer that prides itself on attracting, training, motivating and retaining the best people in its sector. When it comes to world-class people management, this organisation truly delivers on what it promises."

Innovative Ways of Working (supported by RBS): Asda
Feedback to Asda’s old five-day induction programme said it was “death by PowerPoint”. By contrast, the retailer’s new “Best Welcome” is an exciting two-day induction process that has been described as “the best piece of training ever to come out of Asda House”, and which has contributed to a dramatic fall in staff turnover.

Service (supported by Intramezzo): AA Security
Facing regulatory changes in the security industry and after the loss of a major contract, AA Security undertook a review of its whole business. Supported by the Learning & Skills Council on major training programmes and securing a range of quality accreditations, the security personnel provider is today a standard-bearer for its industry – and increasingly profitable, too.

Education, Skills & Leadership (supported by The Working Manager): Moy Park
Northern Ireland’s leading poultry manufacturer discovered that some employees had deficiencies in numeracy and literacy. The firm met the challenge with sensitivity and effectiveness, providing an on-site educational facility and tutor. Employees’ self-confidence and abilities, and business performance, have all been boosted by this visionary learning programme.

Managing Change (supported by Awards UK): Britannia Building Society
When Britannia acquired the Bristol & West savings business from Bank of Ireland, it became the first remutualisation of a former building society. More than 700,000 savers and 800 employees made the move across. Remarkably, the ‘2gether’ integration programme was achieved £12m under budget and Britannia is today delivering record results.

Growing Business (supported by the Learning & Skills Council): Picture Financial.
Newport-based Picture Financial needs high-quality recruits if it is to meet its ambition to be “the number one secured loan provider in five years.” With its array of highly impressive HR processes, from learning and development strategies to psychometric profiling, it is certainly on the right track.

Global Achievement (supported by Harvey Nash): Nissan Manufacturing UK
Nissan’s “global training centres” (GTCs) are purpose-built facilities within manufacturing plants, where production staff can be trained by “master trainers”. The second GTC, at Nissan’s Sunderland plant, will cascade the UK’s world-class training standards across Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Africa, enabling Nissan’s global roll-out.

Excellence in the Public Sector: HMP & YOI Ashfield
Europe’s largest young offenders institute had, until recently, a reputation as the most violent prison in the country. Under the inspirational leadership of director Vicky O’Dea – and a pioneering educational programme in which staff and young people train together – it is now described by the chief inspector as “a model” of prison governance.