Young Engineer Awards

For many years, The Pump Centre has encouraged and supported the development of Young Engineers in the UK who work with any aspect of pumps and associated systems. One of the ways it does this is by making an award to those whose level of achievement and development goes above and beyond in their position.

The award celebrates the UK water industry's brightest young engineers.

By supporting our young talent, we can encourage further development in our engineers and celebrate excellence in engineering.

There are three categories for the awards: Professional, Technician and Apprentice. The Awards are presented each year during the Pump Centre Conference dinner held at the Telford International Centre. The 2025 awards will take place on the evening of 14th May 2025. Nominations open 1st August 2024.

How to enter

To enter the awards, please download the nomination form here. 

Here are some guidance notes for entries.

Award categories

To qualify for nomination in the Professional Young Engineer category, the candidate must be 28 years of age or less on the 1st March 2025 and have a formal qualification in an Engineering or related subject.

To qualify for nomination in the Technician Young Engineer category, the candidate must be 24 years of age or less on the 1st March 2025 and have proven experience on engineering projects as appropriate to their field of work. They should spend most of their time working outside the workshop in a less hands-on role, have a level of responsibility commensurate with that of a Technician Engineer and possibly be working towards a formal qualification in Engineering or a related subject.

To qualify for nomination in the Apprentice Young Engineer category, the candidate must be 22 years of age or less on the 1st March 2025 and have proven engineering experience as appropriate to their field of work and primarily be working in the workshop or in the field on hands-on based tasks.

In each category, the selection process will comprise two stages.

1. The first stage comprises an assessment of the nomination forms received to draw up a list of finalists
2. In the second stage finalists will be invited for interview and to give a presentation. 

Eligibility for Award nomination and requirements

1. Employees of Pump Centre member companies and employees of non-member companies who work closely with Pump Centre member companies (e.g. contractors, consultants etc.) are eligible to apply.
2. All nominations must be endorsed by a representative from a Pump Centre member company.
3. Each Pump Centre member company can nominate or endorse up to 3 young engineers in each award category.
4. The endorser and nominator can be the same person.
5. The nominator must have known the nominee in a working capacity (e.g. manager, team leader, foreman etc.) for at least one year. The nominator does not have to be an employee of a Pump Centre member company.
6. The nomination form must be completed in full by the nominee, nominator and for non-members be endorsed by a Pump Centre Member.

Terms and Conditions

All nomination forms must be returned to the Pump Centre on or before Friday 22nd November 2024.​

The awards are not limited to anyone working in one type of company or Pump Centre membership category. Anyone satisfying the eligibility criteria above is eligible for nomination.

Candidates can be in any of the major disciplines and there is no restriction regarding the type of work they carry out. The nominee's type of experience is also not limited to any one type or category. What's more important is the level of achievement of the nominee and their personal development and the contribution they have made to their business.

Prizes

In each category the award winner will receive a package of prizes worth several hundred pounds comprising:

• A commemorative certificate or trophy
• A gift voucher worth up to £200
• A one day Pump Centre training course worth up to £350

In addition, the award winners and all finalists will receive an invitation, for them and a guest, to attend the Water Equipment Show Conference Dinner Awards Ceremony.