Categories
Entries for all categories must cover the period from January 2023 to April 2024.
Business Excellence
Outstanding Contribution to Specialist Construction
This award celebrates a specialist contractor, from any discipline, that has gone above and beyond expectations to provide an outstanding contribution to the industry or to society at large.
Entrants must have delivered results or improvements between January 2022 and April 2023.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
We are seeking entries that demonstrate an outstanding intervention, innovation or initiative. The winning entrant may have substantially improved safety, raised employee wellbeing, given back to society, achieved positive business change, transformed their approach to diversity and inclusion, achieved breakthroughs in efficiency, or exceeded client expectations by an overwhelming margin. We are especially looking for entrants that have delivered an outcome with a lasting or widespread impact.
Apprentice of the Year
This category is open to UK-based apprentices who have demonstrated outstanding promise in their chosen field.
Entrants will be judged on their achievements between January 2022 and April 2023, and must have been working in construction for no more than three years at the start of that period (i.e. their apprenticeship must have begun no earlier than January 2020). During the period they must have been working for either for a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Entries can be submitted by the apprentice or their employer, but in either case the entry must include an endorsement from a manager or director within their organisation.
Specialist Contractor of the Year (turnover up to £25m)
This category is open to specialist contractors, with annual turnover up to £25m, that have achieved outstanding outcomes between January 2022 and April 2023.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House. It is open only to firms that have filed annual accounts between 1 January 2022 and 30 April 2023 showing annual revenues of £25m or less. Entries must state turnover and profit figures for a financial year reported during the entry period above, and must also make a statement about their health and safety record during the period.
Specialist Contractor of the Year (turnover over £25m)
This category is open to specialist contractors, with annual turnover above £25m, that have achieved outstanding outcomes between January 2022 and April 2023.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House. It is open only to firms that have filed annual accounts between 1 January 2022 and 30 April 2023 showing annual revenues in excess of £25m. Entries must state turnover and profit figures for a financial year reported during the entry period above, and must also make a statement about their health and safety record during the period.
Training Excellence
This award recognises specialist contractors that have put training and employee advancement at the heart of their business.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor, a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House, or a supplier of materials or equipment to specialist contractors.
Entrants will be judged on their record in training and developing staff, and business performance, between January 2022 and April 2023.
Excellence in Social Value
This category celebrates specialist contractors that have delivered outstanding social value through their work and through cultivating meaningful relationships with local communities.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor, a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House, or a supplier of materials or equipment to specialist contractors.
Entrants will be judged on their record of delivering social value to communities between January 2022 and April 2023.
Entrants will be judged on the quality of benefits delivered to local communities and on the potential long-term legacy of their activities. The winner will have gone above and beyond what might normally be expected of an organisation in its position.
Health, Safety and Wellbeing Excellence
This award is to celebrate outstanding outcomes in health, safety and wellbeing, including both physical and mental health, in the short and long term.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Entrants will be judged on their health, safety and wellbeing policies, activities, initiatives and achievements during the period between January 2022 and April 2023.
Company Innovation
Innovation of the Year (Contractor)
This award recognises contractors that have developed an outstanding new product, new service, new process - or other relevant breakthrough. As well as entrants displaying technical ingenuity, the judges will also consider exceptional inventiveness in terms of productivity, business systems, or the quality of service offered to clients.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Entrants will be judged on the impact of innovations developed, piloted or rolled out between January 2022 and April 2023.
The focus of the award is on innovation developed within the UK. A UK-based contractor that has introduced an innovation originally developed abroad is eligible to enter, but will need to clearly demonstrate the value of their own contribution.
Innovation of the Year (Non-Contractor)
This award recognises non-contractor organisations that have developed an outstanding new product, new service, new process - or other relevant breakthrough. As well as entrants displaying technical ingenuity, the judges will also consider exceptional inventiveness in terms of productivity, business systems, or the quality of service offered to clients.
To be eligible, the entrant must NOT be a main contractor, specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor. Eligible organisations include but are not limited to material suppliers, technology providers, equipment manufacturers, consultants, training providers and trade bodies.
Entrants will be judged on the impact of innovations developed, piloted or rolled out between January 2022 and April 2023.
The focus of the award is on innovation developed within the UK. A UK-based provider that has introduced an innovation originally developed abroad is eligible to enter, but will need to clearly demonstrate the value of their own contribution.
Digital Construction Excellence
This award recognises exceptional achievement in the application of digital technology to improve processes, delivery or outcomes in specialist construction.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House. This category is NOT open to suppliers that provide digital technology as their primary business activity, though a supplier may be named alongside a specialist contractor when a contractor files its entry.
Entrants will be judged on their achievements with digital technology between January 2022 and April 2023.
Net-zero Trailblazer Award
This award recognises outstanding achievement and leadership in decarbonisation, reducing emissions across the organisation’s own activities as well as working to reduce carbon throughout the project lifecycle or in partnership with suppliers to tackle embodied carbon.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House. Clients, partners, suppliers, consultants and other stakeholders are not eligible but may be named alongside a specialist contractor when a contractor files its entry.
Entrants will be judged on their achievements between January 2022 and April 2023.
Projects
Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor (subcontract up to £2m)
This category celebrates outstanding achievement by a specialist subcontractor on a specific project, where the total value of the specialist’s contribution to the project adds up to £2m or less.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Work done by the specialist must have reached practical completion between January 2022 and April 2023.
Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor (subcontract from £2m to £5m)
This category celebrates outstanding achievement by a specialist subcontractor on a specific project, where the total value of the specialist’s contribution to the project adds up to between £2m and £5m.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Work done by the specialist must have reached practical completion between January 2022 and April 2023.
Project of the Year by a Specialist Contractor (subcontract over £5m)
This category celebrates outstanding achievement by a specialist subcontractor on a specific project, where the total value of the specialist’s contribution to the project adds up to more than £5m.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Work done by the specialist must have reached practical completion between January 2022 and April 2023.

Specialisms
Access & Scaffolding Specialist of the Year
This category celebrates leadership in the field of access and scaffolding provision within the UK.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Entrants will be judged on their achievements between January 2022 and April 2023.
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Offsite Specialist of the Year
This category celebrates leadership in specialist offsite construction within the UK.
To be eligible, the entrant must be an independent specialist with a significant focus on the use of offsite methods, or an offsite-focused subsidiary of a larger organisation that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Entrants will be judged on their achievements between January 2022 and April 2023.
MEP Specialist of the Year
This category celebrates leadership in the field of mechanical, electrical and plumbing (or public health) provision within the UK.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Entrants will be judged on their achievements between January 2022 and April 2023.
Demolition Specialist of the Year
This category celebrates leadership in the field of demolition within the UK.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Entrants will be judged on their achievements between January 2022 and April 2023.
Ground Engineering Specialist of the Year
This category celebrates leadership in the field of ground engineering within the UK.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Entrants will be judged on their achievements between January 2022 and April 2023.
Envelope Specialist of the Year
This category celebrates leadership in the field of envelope or building exterior provision within the UK.
To be eligible, the entrant must be a specialist contractor or a specialist subsidiary of a main contractor that files separate accounts at Companies House.
Entrants will be judged on their achievements between January 2022 and April 2023.
Equipment Specialist of the Year
This category celebrates outstanding achievement by any organisation that manufacturers, hires, sells or supplies equipment to specialist contractors in the UK.
To be eligible, the entrant must be an independent concern or subsidiary of a larger group that files separate accounts at Companies House, which earns the majority of its revenues through the provision of construction equipment.
Entrants will be judged on their achievements between January 2022 and April 2023.