PEOPLE WATCH
Award winner Mohammed Mahmood with Ann Watson, CEO of Enginuity. Erin Lowe, Hannah Livingstone and Natalie Smith.
New Enginuity Skills award winners
British engineering and manufacturing talent grasped glory at the Enginuity Skills Awards 2025, during a glittering ceremony at the Park Plaza London Riverbank in London recently. Enginuity, formerly a Sector Skills Council and a charity, aims to close the skills gap in British engineering and manufacturing.
Mohammed Mahmood, from Stoke on Trent, was deemed by the judging panel to be the‘ Best of British Engineering’, having picked up the‘ Best T-Level student category’ earlier in the evening. Arriving in England with limited English and no industry experience, he pursued a‘ T Level’ in Building Services Engineering to gain technical knowledge and practical skills. He underwent placements with Sodexo and 24-7 Group, which provided him with hands-on expertise and confidence.
Ann Watson, CEO of Enginuity, explained:“ Mohammed’ s achievements should be lauded across the country and will, no doubt, inspire future engineers from all backgrounds. His conviction that education is a privilege, rather than an entitlement, serves as a lesson to us all. We should also acknowledge the growing acceptance of‘ T Levels’ among educators and young individuals, as they are increasingly becoming a valuable pathway to fulfilling careers within the sector.”
Two of the three winners in individual categories were women, a milestone for the sector, at the event. Hannah Livingstone, from Derby, who works for Rolls-Royce, triumphed as the‘ Best Graduate Degree or Higher-Level Apprentice’, and Erin Lowe(‘ Advanced Apprentice’) from Worcester who works for Yamazaki Mazak, fought off fierce competition. Other awards given on the night included various industry and training awards.
“ Many of the skills and businesses showcased at the ceremony have been deemed by the UK Government, in its tenyear Industrial Strategy, as‘ the New Frontier’. The EDT National Industrial Cadet Platinum award was also awarded, as part of the celebrations, to Natalie Smith,” concluded Enginuity. n
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Steel industry trailblazer takes advisory role
Alex Shufflebottom, longstanding director and managing director of Shufflebottom, will be transitioning into an advisory ambassadorial position after 25 years of leading the business. Shufflebottom, a multi-award-winning steel fabrication company based in South Wales, is now part of the wider UK-headquartered Embrace Steel Group.
“ During her tenure, Alex, with her brother Wesley and business partner Alec, have organically grown the family business from £ 12 million revenue to doubling turnover to £ 25 million and over 85 employees based in Wales. Throughout this time, the business has picked up many accolades for its attention to detail and personalised service, such as scooping Construction News’‘ Steelwork Specialist of the Year’ award,” confirmed Embrace Steel Group.
Alex has also been a notable trailblazer for female leadership in the traditionally maledominated steel and engineering industry,
Alex Shufflebottom.
while also actively mentoring and providing support for young people throughout the wider UK business community. She played a pivotal role during Embrace’ s acquisition of Shufflebottom in April 2024 and will continue to provide counsel to the new management team at Shufflebottom, and the wider Embrace Steel Group, in her new role as Ambassador.“ We’ ve achieved so much over the last 25 years, but I am most proud of being able to maintain Shufflebottom’ s family-business values. Our people are the heart of the
business and, from day one, I’ ve placed a strong emphasis on looking after our employees professionally and on a personal level; whether that’ s investing in the latest technology and tools, providing internal training and apprenticeships to help with retaining our highly skilled staff or offering support for any external challenges that may be impacting employees beyond the workplace,” commented Alex Shufflebottom.
Embrace’ s CEO, Martin Kelly, added:“ I would like to say thank you to Alex for her time and leadership over the last 25 years. She has been an exceptional leader and will be the perfect ambassador for the business going forward as we expand into new sectors and geographic regions, while continuing Shufflebottom’ s excellent reputation for reliability and high-quality steel building.” n
https:// embracesteel group. co. uk /
12 | ismr. net | ISMR September 2025