EEEGR End of Year Awards open for entries as group marks 25 years

Nominations are open for the EEEGR End of Year Awards, with the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) inviting entries across ten categories celebrating businesses, organisations and individuals in the region’s energy sector. The celebration will take place at Dunston Hall, near Norwich, on Thursday 4 December 2025, according to EEEGR’s own events listing, correcting an earlier reference to 3 December that had been in circulation.

Entries are open for approximately two months, covering a broad spread of the regional energy mix: offshore wind, oil and gas, ports and geothermal all feature among the eligible sectors. Categories include Apprentice Employer of the Year, Community Impact, Innovation, Environmental Impact, One to Watch, Young Person of the Year, Outstanding Contribution to Skills for Energy and Rising Star.

A new award for a milestone year

The headline addition this year is a Best of the Best award, created to mark EEEGR’s 25th anniversary. Named in honour of the group’s founder, John Best, it is open only to former award winners who have ‘consistently demonstrated outstanding excellence, innovation and leadership’ within the sector. It is, in other words, a legacy prize rather than an open competition.

EEEGR chair Kevin Keable was candid about the symbolism. ‘This year is particularly special because we’re celebrating 25 years,’ he said. ‘Somebody who’s won an award in the past few years is now a big part of the industry. Somebody who wins this year will be a big part of the industry, possibly for the next 25 years.’ His follow-up was pointed: ‘It’s important to keep passing that fact on over to the next generation, to the next SME company that’s growing, to the next company that’s exporting.’

The bespoke trophies themselves will be made by a new intake of welding scholars from Norwich training company REAGIT, which at least gives the physical objects a provenance tied to the skills agenda the awards claim to champion.

Skills pressure underpins the EEEGR End of Year Awards agenda

The Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) has confirmed continued sponsorship of the Apprentice Employer of the Year category. ECITB director of regional operations Matt Knights framed that commitment in terms of the wider workforce challenge. ‘People can probably align themselves to the fact that the energy industry and more widely the engineering construction industry is experiencing quite a period of change,’ he said. ‘There’s lots of opportunity. And with opportunity, it’s not just investment that will allow all of these projects to happen. It’s about skills. It’s about having the right people in the right place at the right time with the requisite skills to be able to deliver all of these nationally important projects, and that’s prominent in the east of England.’

That framing matters. The east of England sits at the intersection of several large-scale energy infrastructure pipelines, and the skills gap in offshore wind construction and operations is well-documented. Awards that lift apprentice employers and young entrants do serve a function beyond the gala dinner, provided the judging criteria are rigorous and the sector actually acts on the recognition.

Last year’s results give some indication of the standard. Engineering company Armultra took the Apprentice Employer of the Year title in 2025, while apprentice Cole Barber was named Young Person of the Year. Armultra senior project manager Karl Pull said the double win reflected deliberate investment: ‘We put a lot of time and effort into our young people, and we want to give them an opportunity to come into the world of engineering, learn from the experience and to be able to transfer their skills between offshore wind and oil and gas.’

Each of the ten award categories carries a sponsorship opportunity, including a role in the judging process, the chance to present the award on the night and a table of ten guests at the ceremony. Entries for the EEEGR End of Year Awards close in approximately two months; the full nomination process is available via the EEEGR events page.