Entries Open for 2025 Leeds Manufacturing Festival Awards to Spotlight Industry’s Young Talent

West Yorkshire’s manufacturing and engineering businesses are being urged to nominate their most promising young professionals for the 2025 Leeds Manufacturing Festival Awards, as entries officially open for this year’s showcase of the industry’s rising stars and innovative employers.

Now in their fourth year, the awards are a key highlight of the Leeds Manufacturing Festival and are designed to celebrate the achievements of young individuals in the sector. The event also aims to help close the skills gap by attracting a new generation into the industry and supporting its long-term future.

Nominations are open until Monday 2 June, and the awards ceremony will be held at Leeds Beckett University on 12 June. This year’s categories include Apprentice of the Year, Rising Star, Future Manufacturing Leader and Employer of the Year. A special Manufacturing Ambassador award will also be presented to an individual who has gone above and beyond in promoting the sector and inspiring the next generation.

Kieran Dinsdale, operations supervisor at packaging manufacturer Greyhound Box, who won the Future Manufacturing Leader title at last year’s event, said:

“A year on from winning, the recognition has helped me grow in confidence as a leader and given me new opportunities to contribute to the business beyond day-to-day operations. I joined the business as an apprentice a decade ago and it is great to be able to show younger team members the potential for career progression in manufacturing where there’s so much innovation and potential to build a long-term future.”

Last year’s Apprentice of the Year Award went to Dan Brodie of electrical control panel designer and manufacturer Bensons Control Panels, who impressed the judges with his reliability, positivity and self-assurance.

“I’ve learned so many new skills on my apprenticeship; not just technical skills but also working effectively with other people as well as developing my communication and leadership skills which not everyone would associate with manufacturing and engineering,” said Dan. “Winning the award was a real confidence boost and it will spur me on to hopefully achieve great things in my career.”

With record backing from leading Leeds manufacturers, the 2025 festival is supported by major names such as textiles firm AW Hainsworth, precision toolmaker MA Ford Europe, switchgear manufacturer Technical Control Systems and juke box producer Sound Leisure. 

The individual awards are sponsored by organisations with deep roots in the sector including specialist recruiter E3 Recruitment, the engineering and manufacturing charity Enginuity, Leeds Beckett University and Made Smarter Yorkshire and Humber, a programme that helps businesses adopt digital technology and develop essential new skills.

Matt Booth, associate director at E3 Recruitment, said the Employer of the Year Award, which is sponsored by his firm, is a vital celebration of the businesses helping to shape the industry’s future.

“Recognising outstanding employers not only highlights best practice across the region but also encourages even more organisations to invest in the next generation of manufacturing professionals,” he said. “The strength of our sector depends on employers who are willing to nurture skills, create opportunities and champion innovation and this award provides a platform to showcase the very best of what our industry has to offer.”

Cash prizes will be awarded to winners of the Leeds Manufacturing Festival Awards, and a donation will be made to homelessness charity the Howarth Foundation on behalf of the winner of the Employer of the Year category.

Entry details and nomination forms are available now via the Leeds Manufacturing Festival website: www.leedsmanufacturingfestival.co.uk

The 2025 awards will once again be hosted by Greg Wright, deputy business editor of the Yorkshire Post