Fallon Campbell, Michael Horgan and Annalise Clark each picked up an award at a prestigious ceremony to honour the very best of engineering construction talent in Great Britain.

The event, organised by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) and hosted by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, brought together industry leaders, as well as the new generation of talent, for a celebration of excellence in training and development in the ECI.

Fallon, who is an electrician on the nuclear site at NRS Dounreay, was named Apprentice of the Year, while the Graduate of the Year accolade went to Michael, a project engineer at Aberdeenshire-based STATS Group.

Annalise, a trainee maintenance operative at Altrad, won the ECITB New Entrant Award after completing the Work Ready Programme at Forth Valley College.

Scotland enjoyed further success with Aberdeen’s AFS Technologies picking up the Training Organisation of the Year award, while Bilfinger UK, which operates from both Warrington and Aberdeen, was named Large Employer of the Year.

The ECI spans sectors that focus on the construction, maintenance and decommissioning of heavy industry, including oil and gas, nuclear, power generation, pharmaceuticals and chemicals.

As one of the UK’s largest providers of engineering and maintenance services, Bilfinger was recognised for its commitment to investing in its people to “keep up with the fast-paced changes of our industry”.

Stephanie Broadley, training and competency manager at Bilfinger UK, said: “I am thrilled that we have won as we didn’t expect it. It’s wonderful to be recognised by industry like this, but for us it doesn’t matter if we win awards or not as we operate at this level all the time.

“Our aim is to ensure that our people are competent, know what they’re doing and are happy in our workforce.”

A judging panel of industry representatives – made up of Tracey Shelley (BCECA), John Simpson (ECIA), Mark Riley (Phillips 66 Limited), Steve Hunt (Altrad) and Helen Woodward Davies (EDF Energy) – picked the overall winners based on the significant contributions they have made both to the ECI and their own organisations.

There were two repeat winners on the night. Wright Engineering won the Leading Industry Safety Award a year after being named SME of the Year, while Hydratight Limited was named International Training Organisation of the Year for a second year running, this time for its work in Singapore.

The nuclear industry was also well represented in the winners on the night. As well as the apprentice award for Fallon, the Herne Group (SME of the Year) and Sellafield Ltd (Excellence in ED&I) were also recognised for their work in the sector around training and development.

ECITB chief executive Andrew Hockey said: “As the industry-led skills body for engineering construction, we are committed to developing the skills needed for the delivery of critical infrastructure projects, energy security and net zero ambitions across Great Britain.

“We spoke of this commitment when launching our new strategy, Leading Industry Learning, back in September, which outlined how we will help to address skills shortages and support industry growth amid an increasingly complex and fast-changing external environment.

“We highlighted how achieving the outcomes from our 2026-30 strategy will require collaboration and commitment well beyond the ECITB alone.

“It fills me with great hope, therefore, to see this commitment to skills development showcased throughout industry in the inspiring entries we received this year for the ECI Training & Development Awards.

“Congratulations go to all the winners and finalists who are great examples of these success stories over the past year and set standards to which we all aspire.

“I would also like to thank our judges, as well as our generous sponsors who made the evening possible for us to celebrate the brightest and best.”

As well as each category being sponsored, the drinks, entertainment and host were sponsored by the National College for Nuclear, Wright Engineering and Women’s Engineering Society (WES) respectively, while the dinner was sponsored by Nuclear Skills Alliance / Hinkley Point C (HPC).

ECI Training & Development Awards 2025: Winners and finalists

Apprentice of the Year Award – sponsored by Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA)

    • Winner: Fallon Campbell (NRS Dounreay)
    • Finalists: Charlotte Ellis (HPC), Joshua Poncia (KBR)

Graduate of the Year Award – sponsored by BCECA

    • Winner: Michael Horgan (STATS Group)
    • Finalists: Alexander Clark (KBR), Anouschka Van Mourik (Sellafield Ltd)

ECITB New Entrant Award – sponsored by Laker Vent

    • Winner: Annalise Clark (Forth Valley College / Altrad)
    • Finalists: Henry Nelson (Pembrokeshire College / Altrad), Steve Hampton (Gen2 / NUVIA)

Large Employer of the Year – sponsored by Sellafield Ltd

    • Winner: Bilfinger UK
    • Finalists: HPC, STATS Group

Small/Medium Employer of the Year – sponsored by NUVIA

    • Winner: The Herne Group
    • Finalists: C&P Engineering Services Ltd, Intelect 

Excellence in ED&I Award – sponsored by Sizewell C

    • Winner: Sellafield Ltd
    • Finalists: Altrad, NRS Dounreay

Training Organisation of the Year – sponsored by GSS Training

    • Winner: AFS Technologies 
    • Finalists: Hydrasun, Rewards Training (Scotland)

Leading Industry Safety Award – sponsored by Bilfinger UK

    • Winner: Wright Engineering
    • Finalists: Client Contractor National Safety Group (CCNSG), C&P Engineering Services

International Training Organisation of the Year – sponsored by KBR

    • Winner: Hydratight Limited (Central Asia and Asia Pacific)
    • Regional Winners: Technology of Petroleum Services (TPS) (Middle East and Caspian) and Solid Rock Life and Business (East Africa and Rest of World).