Rolls-Royce and Hemsley Gain the 2026 Learning Excellence Award

This creative L&D programme looks beyond internal expertise, combining real-world and problem-solving challenges to hone specialists’ leadership and wider skills for future roles.
Devised by Rolls-Royce department heads, technical leaders and Hemsley’s L&D specialists, the programme is instrumental in developing technical expertise in a holistic way, while meeting rising demand for complex nuclear engineering solutions. 

The Pandorus programme’s learning modules blend interactive learning and practical exercises to embed skills, in-person sessions to maintain learners’ high engagement levels, with follow-up reinforcement of learnings. To complete a rounded learning experience, Rolls-Royce’s dynamic, experience-led learning hub features Hemsley’s cutting-edge learning content and programme insights. 

Programme participants are paired with senior technical specialists for regular feedback and growth assessment, while the programme’s ongoing evaluation includes structured ratings and open-ended responses from learners to capture real-time qualitative insights. 

Chris Palmer, Head of Engineering Capability at Rolls-Royce said: "The Learning Excellence Award is a fantastic recognition of the Pandorus programme to prepare experienced engineers to take up specialist leadership positions."

The Pandorus programme’s learning modules blend interactive learning and practical exercises to embed skills, in-person sessions to maintain learners’ high engagement levels, with follow-up reinforcement of learnings. To complete a rounded learning experience, Rolls-Royce’s dynamic, experience-led learning hub features Hemsley’s cutting-edge learning content and programme insights. 

Programme participants are paired with senior technical specialists for regular feedback and growth assessment, while the programme’s ongoing evaluation includes structured ratings and open-ended responses from learners to capture real-time qualitative insights. 

Chris Palmer, Head of Engineering Capability at Rolls-Royce said: "The Learning Excellence Award is a fantastic recognition of the Pandorus programme to prepare experienced engineers to take up specialist leadership positions."

Learning data shows that participants better understand key operating principles and are remarkably engaged: eNPS (Net Promoter Scores) from surveys have increased from 85+ before the programme to 95+ afterwards, when 50+ is generally considered outstanding.

Naomi Buxton, Chief Operating Officer at Hemsley Fraser commented: "Instead of relying solely on internal expertise, Rolls-Royce’s programme raised the bar by blending best practices from across industry and academia that participants wouldn’t normally encounter, with deep insights from experienced Rolls-Royce specialists. 

"The end result is a well-rounded and very practical learning experience, and we're delighted that the programme has been recognised with this accolade."