Aberdeenshire company Stats Group and Dounreay in Caithness were among the winners at the 11th Engineering Construction Industry (ECI) Training and Development Awards.
Stats, based in Kintore, won the small and medium-sized enterprise employer of the year title.
Dounreay, part of Nuclear Restoration Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, won the large employer of the year award.
A joint venture of Aberdeen-based EnerMech scooped the international training provider of the year prize.
And energy services firm Petrofac came away with the “leading industry safety” award.
Bilfinger UK president scoops outstanding contribution gong
Meanwhile, Bilfinger UK‘s north-east-based executive president, Sandy Bonner, was honoured with an outstanding contribution to industry award.
The ECI Awards are organised annually by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB).
This year’s ceremony took place beneath the hull of the Cutty Sark ship in London last night.
It brought together industry leaders, influencers, policymakers and rising stars of the engineering and construction industry across the UK.
Host for the night was engineer, broadcaster and science, technology, engineering and mathematics advocate Kate Bellingham.
Stats was recognised for how it “fosters competency across the organisation and instils a culture of improvement”.
Andy Buckworth, training and competence nanagerm Stats, said: “I’m ecstatic for the whole company. We put a platform in place and people have responded by committing to training and development.
“Everyone’s bought into getting more higher level skills that are relevant to the on-the-job work they were doing – and we put a system in place to really enhance that.
“When it comes to training and development, we have a role and responsibility as an employer to put that on a plate for people to buy into that and to develop themselves.”
Dounreay, responsible for the safe and secure clean-up of the redundant Caithness nuclear site, was hailed for its “exceptional commitment to learning and development”.
Rhona Gill, learning development specialist at the firm, said: “We’re a very small learning and development team. We’re always punching above our weight, so it’s amazing to be recognised among our peers.”
Tabitha Hill, health and safety graduate at safety award winner Petrofac, said: “There were so many talented people in the room and to be recognised alongside them felt great, it’s well deserved for the amazing team that we’ve got in Aberdeen.”
ECITB chief operating officer Andy Brown presented the outstanding contribution award to Mr Bonner, highlighting his work for ECITB’s Connected Competence programme.
Mr Bonner said: “I’m taken aback; it’s amazing to be standing here. But it’s not about me, it’s a team effort. I couldn’t have done it without the support of the ECITB.”
Speaking at his first ECI Awards since joining the ECITB, chief executive Andrew Hockey said: “It is wonderful to be in the same room to celebrate all that is great about training and development in our industry, with so many partners and friends representing organisations from across the length and breadth of the UK and internationally.”
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