Industry titan gains Lifetime Achievement Award at REC Awards 2026 - REC

The brightest and best in recruitment were celebrated at the REC Awards 2026, held last night. This included a lifetime achievement award for Tim Cook, CEO of nGAGE.

Tim Cook is pictured above receiving his award from REC Chair Bev White.

Other winners included Tile Hill for its leadership scheme supporting ethnic minority talent in local government and Brightwork Staffline for establishing Scotland Against Modern Slavery.

The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) holds the REC Awards annually to celebrate innovation, excellence and resilience in the recruitment sector.

The award entries and attendees are all members of the REC, which is the voice of the £40 billion a year recruitment industry.

The awards were held as the job market begins to slowly turn for the better after a few years of challenging market conditions.

REC Interim Chief Executive Maxine Bligh said:

“Tonight celebrates the boldness and brilliance of the recruitment industry, worth £40 billion a year to the UK economy. Recruiters change lives, localities and businesses for the better. These awards recognise the individuals and organisations setting the standard for excellence in recruitment.

“In another challenging year for the economy, recruiters have shown exceptional resilience, innovation and professionalism, helping businesses grow and people find opportunities. Technology can help make recruitment more efficient, but it is people who understand potential, build trust and make great matches. Our winners show how the best recruiters are combining technological innovation with human expertise to deliver outstanding results for clients and jobseekers alike.”

Lifetime Achievement Award

Tim Cook, CEO of nGAGE since 2013, collected the Lifetime Achievement Award. Cook is responsible for driving and executing nGAGE’s strategy and direction within the staffing industry. He leads the boards of the group’s specialist recruitment companies to deliver high-profit growth targets and create value for shareholders. Additionally, Cook works to identify opportunities for further investment. He has more than 30 years’ recruitment experience and prior to joining the nGAGE group was Global Head of Digital and Business Innovation at Hays and a management board member. He was named in 2026 Staffing 100 Europe which recognises those European staffing leaders whose significant accomplishments and vision are shaping the world of work.

Maxine Bligh said:

“For many years, Tim Cook has built an outstanding career at the heart of one of the recruitment industry's greatest success stories. Tim has led a market-leading business in the UK while driving innovation and growth around the world.

“He understands that great recruitment businesses grow when talented, entrepreneurial people are trusted and empowered to succeed. Throughout his career, Tim has challenged his organisation and the wider industry to look ahead, whether by expanding into new international markets, embracing new technologies, or investing in the opportunities created by AI.

“His impact reaches far beyond the businesses he leads. Many of today’s recruitment leaders can point to advice, encouragement or opportunities that came from Tim. This award recognises an exceptional career spanning decades helping to shape modern recruitment and leaving a lasting mark on businesses, careers and the profession.”

Big winners

The Temporary Recruiter of the Year was Richard Shorrock, Associate Director of the Spencer Clarke Group. This was recognition for his contribution to the growth of his firm’s SEND division and pivotal role in the expansion into the wider education market. Shorrock was also named Recruiter of the Year at the close of the event.

The Agency Star of the Year was Jeremy Newell of Rapid Personnel. The award reflects his innovative workforce solutions, improving candidate engagement, communication and retention and process improvements such as biometric time and attendance systems.

And the Permanent Recruiter of the Year was Sian-Marie Sheppard, of KSB Recruitment Consultants. Sian-Marie has consistently exceeded company expectations and targets, with an excellent knowledge of the catering and hospitality industry. Adam O’Keefe, of Eurobase People, was highly commended.

The Recruiter of the Year 2026 was Richard Shorrock from Spencer Clarke Group. Coincidentally, his brother John Shorrock, of Spencer Clarke Group, was shortlisted for Agency Star of the Year, although he did not win that award.

Maxine Bligh said:

“Out of all the winners, Richard Shorrock stood out as a real inspiration to the judges. Richard’s combination of responsiveness, relationship-building and a willingness to keep learning make him a worthy winner. He is not only an ambassador for his company but the industry overall.”

Other notable award winners

Brightwork Staffline has won the Community Impact of the Year Award for funding and establishing the Scotland Against Modern Slavery (SAMS). Scotland’s only anti-trafficking business network is run in partnership with the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and Fair Work Agency (former GLAA). This educates employers on the risk of labour exploitation, creates pathways into work for survivors of labour and sexual exploitation and delivers awareness programmes within vulnerable communities. Significantly, 26 survivors of labour and sexual exploitation have been supported into sustainable employment through SAMS corporate member organisations. Access to secure work has enabled individuals to rebuild their lives, regain independence and reduce vulnerability to further exploitation. Two survivors subsequently felt empowered to provide evidence against their perpetrators, contributing to successful criminal prosecutions. Around 100 asylum seekers, Hong Kong BNO arrivals and Ukrainian nationals have participated in education and employment support programmes designed to reduce their risk of exploitation. SAMS even delivered modern slavery awareness sessions to a school in a deprived area of Glasgow.

Tile Hill, which prides itself on creating a culture where everyone can be themselves, won the Diversity Initiative of the Year award.  Its annual inclusion survey backs that up, showing 100% of staff saying their personal values align with the firm’s. It has an EDI panel with board representation which reports regularly on its action plan. Every month, the firm invites expert speakers on key EDI topics, including social mobility champions and speakers from Endometriosis UK and Stonewall. It has also created a national leadership development programme to address what the firm has found to be a structural crisis in public sector leadership. Ethnic diversity remains very low throughout the most senior layers of local government leadership. Tile Hill cites figures that show in local government just 3% of chief executives come from the global majority. ‘Different’ is spearheaded by two trailblazing senior leaders, Deborah Cadman OBE and Meena Kishinani, who have navigated the challenges of the public sector firsthand. Every participant is personally nominated and sponsored by their chief executive and benefits from customised mentor matching based on career goals, skills gaps and real-life challenges, alongside tailored psychometric assessment and feedback to support leadership development.

And Staffline Recruitment won the Best Use of Technology Award for providing a technological solution to win a contract with one of Britain’s most successful bread-makers. Today, managers have secure access to real-time workforce data through a single platform, enabling them to monitor labour demand, attendance, bookings, performance and spend more effectively. More than 127 managers at the bread-maker use the technology daily across eight sites, giving them immediate access to information that supports faster and more informed decision-making. Automation has improved service delivery by reducing delays and increasing accuracy. Shift fulfilment, time and attendance, and payroll processes are connected through a seamless end-to-end workflow, reducing errors and increasing confidence in workforce data. The effectiveness of the process is demonstrated by zero invoice queries since implementation, giving the bread-maker confidence that workforce hours, payroll and billing are processed accurately and consistently. For Staffline, automation has created additional capacity within onsite teams, allowing colleagues to focus on customer support, relationship management and operational problem-solving.

Notes to editors

1.     The full list of winners is on the REC Awards 2026 website: www.rec.uk.com/winners 

Best Newcomer in Recruitment Lily Robertson, Stonehouse Recruitment Group

Temporary Recruiter of the Year Richard Shorrock, Spencer Clarke Group

Permanent Recruiter of the Year Sian-Marie Sheppard, KSB Recruitment Consultants

Agency Star of the Year Jeremy Newell, Rapid Personnel

Candidate Experience of the Year Chantelle Wooldridge, Tile Hill

Business Leader of the Year (for businesses with T/O up to £10m) Dawn Bannister, KSB Recruitment Consultants

Business Leader of the Year (for businesses with T/O over £10m), Ciara Pryce, VGC Group

Lifetime Achievement Award Tim Cook, nGAGE

Recruitment Team of the Year VHR

Shared Services Team of the Year Pracyva

In-House Recruitment Team of the Year Stellar Omada

Best Use of Technology Award Staffline Recruitment

Impact on a Client’s Business Award Opus People Solutions

Demonstrating High Standards in Recruitment Award Eden Brown Synergy

Community Impact of the Year Brightwork Staffline

Diversity Initiative of the Year Tile Hill

UK Supplier to the Recruitment Industry of the Year Liquid Friday

Best Company to work for (up to 20 employees) Tiro Associates

Best Company to work for (up to 50 employees) Yolk Recruitment

Best Company to work for (over 50 employees) Matchtech

Recruiter of the Year 2026 Richard Shorrock, Spencer Clarke Group

2. The REC Awards were judged by a panel of individuals across different businesses and sectors.

3. The event was held at: Peninsula Suite, O2 InterContinental, 1 Waterview Drive, London, on Thursday 5 November 2026.

4. The awards are exclusively for Recruitment & Employment Confederation members, and their categories recognise both individual achievement and company-wide success.

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