Top technical learners and training providers honored at Enginuity Skills Awards 2025 as UK grapples with engineering talent pipeline

This year’s winners include T Level, apprenticeship, and degree learners, alongside employers and providers working to address regional skills gaps and workforce development challenges.

Winners from across the United Kingdom’s engineering and manufacturing sectors were recognized at the Enginuity Skills Awards 2025, held at the Park Plaza London Riverbank. The event, organized by skills charity Enginuity, highlighted individuals and organizations contributing to the development of technical skills and workforce sustainability.

The top honor of the evening, Best of British Engineering, was awarded to Mohammed Mahmood from Stoke-on-Trent. Mahmood had earlier been named Best T Level Student for his achievements while studying Building Services Engineering at Newcastle and Stafford College Group. His journey, relocating from Sudan to the UK with limited English and no prior industry experience, was cited as an example of determination, practical learning, and resilience.

Ann Watson, CEO of Enginuity, says: “Mohammed's achievements should be lauded across the country and will no doubt inspire future engineers from all backgrounds. His conviction that education is a privilege rather than an entitlement serves as a lesson to us all.”

Individual winners reflect pathway diversity

Two of the three individual learner awards went to women. Hannah Livingstone, a Materials Engineering Degree Apprentice at Rolls-Royce, was named Graduate, Degree or Higher-Level Apprentice of the Year. Livingstone, originally from Greenock and now based in Derby, has contributed to projects that delivered annual savings of more than £75,000 and has chaired her company’s Education Outreach committee.

Livingstone says: “Having come from a relatively deprived area I know that there are too many people out there that don’t believe that they can achieve. I was all but written off at school as I wasn’t seen as academic. I have made it my business to go back twice and show them how well I was doing.”

Erin Lowe, a Level 3 Electrical Apprentice at Yamazaki Mazak UK Ltd in Worcester, received the Advanced Apprentice award. Her efforts to introduce digital efficiencies on the shop floor and her commitment to outreach work earned praise from the judging panel.

Lowe says: “This is a massive boost for my career – truly life-changing and life-affirming. I can’t wait to ring my mum Sharon and dad Phillip to celebrate. They are watching the live stream and will be going mad at home.”

Mahmood, the overall winner, also reflects on his experience: “Having arrived in Portsmouth just four years ago from war-torn Sudan – I am so proud of what I have achieved.”

Employers and providers recognized for sector impact

UWE Bristol received the Training Provider Skills Champion award for its degree apprenticeship delivery and its Women in Industry project, which increased female apprenticeship applications by 60 percent in one year. The university’s approach includes mentoring, employer partnerships, and targeted outreach.

Dr Laura Fogg Rogers, Associate Professor at UWE, says: “So proud to pick up this award, which is testimony to fantastic degree programs and mentoring my colleagues and I carry out. We are focusing on skilling, retention and diversity to ensure that we can continue to support and boost the sector.”

Useful Simple Trust, a London-based social enterprise, was named SME Employer Skills Champion for embedding learning into its business strategy and prioritizing skills related to sustainability, carbon literacy, and digital transformation.

Eva McNamara, representing the organization, says: “We take great pride in this award, it’s amazing recognition and will use it to energize our work. Our focus is on future skills with a view to what our planet needs.”

Kilnbridge Construction, based in Canning Town, received the Large Employer Skills Champion award. The company has shifted its talent model to prioritize apprenticeships and graduate schemes, reporting an increase in PAYE engineering staff and record apprentice engagement.

Serhiy Luguyi, Trainer and Assessor at Kilnbridge, says: “Skills are a great way to ensure that young people can be socially mobile. I came here 20 years ago from the Ukraine and worked my way up. This award shows just how much we value our apprentices. We are immensely proud.”

New collaboration and inclusion initiatives

Other winners included Engineered Learning, an alternative education provider in the East Midlands. Its program for NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and EHCP-supported young people earned the New Talent Inspiration Program of the Year award, along with a £10,000 grant. The initiative delivers Level 1 accredited courses in fabrication, welding, and motor vehicle maintenance in a real workshop setting.

Dan Read, Managing Director and Tutor at Engineered Learning, says: “We cannot afford to lose so many young people out of the system and let them squander their lives – we believe in catching them in a safety net and giving them another chance. They are natural survivors and have so much to offer.”

The Aspire Shared Apprenticeship Programme, operating in Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil, won the Enginuity Alliance Collaboration Award. The program allows apprentices to rotate across multiple employers while receiving continuous mentoring. The model is designed to increase regional resilience and help address skills gaps in South Wales.

Graham Reece, Regional Engagement Officer for Aspire, says: “We have spent the last ten years helping to re-ignite apprenticeships following the industrial decline in our region – linking businesses with young people wishing to become apprentices. To date we have helped more than 200 people and we have so much more to do.”

Watson concludes: “This country is awash with talent – it’s now up to those in positions of power and responsibility, working with Enginuity the ‘Sector Connector’, to make the most of it and push on for growth and the greater good.”