SECTOR REPRESENTATION AWARD
Automate UK
In December 2023, the PPMA Group of Associations became Automate UK — a bold reinvention that redefined how the UK’s automation and smart manufacturing sectors are represented. More than a rebrand, it was a strategic transformation to position the organisation as a modern advocate for innovation, policy influence, and industrial growth.
Guided by member insight, Automate UK launched a refreshed identity alongside new digital tools, policy forums, and strategic partnerships with leading organisations. Within 12 months, the impact was clear: a 23% increase in membership, representation on national boards, and a 604% surge in digital engagement. More than 50% of event-generated revenue was reinvested into member services, research, and advocacy initiatives.
Endorsed by major industry leaders such as Siemens and Rockwell Automation, Automate UK now plays a pivotal role in shaping the UK’s manufacturing future. It has united a once-fragmented sector and delivered meaningful influence at both industry and policy levels.
Automate UK is redefining what a modern trade association should be — not just an event organiser, but a catalyst for innovation, collaboration, and national competitiveness.
British Beer and Pub Association
The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) represents over 90% of UK brewers and over 20,000 pubs, supporting a million + and contributing £34 billion to the economy. After several years of political turmoil, the election of a new government and Parliament meant there was an urgency to re-explain the economic and wider social and cultural value of this vital national sector.
Through unified industry collaboration, strategic government engagement, and a powerful public narrative, the BBPA achieved significant wins: including the only economic sector to achieve a tax cut at the Autumn 2024 Budget, along with a commitment to permanent business rates reform. Over 200 MPs were engaged, and more than 50,000 constituent letters influenced policy decisions. National media coverage amplified real stories from publicans, building widespread support.
The BBPA’s timely sector briefings and research have helped boost member satisfaction to 85% and increasing membership by 10%.
With evidence-led advocacy, clear strategy, and passionate leadership, BBPA has not only protected but advanced the UK pub and brewing industry. In a tough political and economic environment, our work has safeguarded livelihoods, preserved British culture, and reshaped the future of pubs.
British Pest Control Association
With 40% of the pest control workforce due to retire in the next decade, the sector faces a critical recruitment and representation challenge. British Pest Control Association (BPCA) responded with a bold, strategic commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), aiming to make pest management accessible, appealing and inclusive for people from all backgrounds.
At the heart of the work is BPCA’s permanent EDI Committee, bringing together diverse voices to shape the Association’s approach. From this, a suite of resources has emerged: an industry-first EDI Toolkit, recruitment templates, onboarding frameworks, and outreach materials for careers fairs and schools.
These tools are already making a difference. Member companies have reported stronger recruitment, improved gender balance, and faster onboarding. One firm now has a 50/50 gender split after embedding EDI into its values.
BPCA has also taken steps to improve website accessibility, use inclusive language in all communications, and promote careers to a broader audience through its dedicated online hub.
Next comes the EDI Charter, a public commitment for member companies to embrace inclusive practice.
This is more than a campaign. It’s a cultural shift that’s helping secure the future of pest control, making the industry more welcoming, representative and resilient.
Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation
The Complete Air Traffic System (CATS) Global Council is an industry-led initiative instigated by CANSO that brought together more than 80 organisations from across the entire aviation ecosystem—including air navigation service providers (CANSO members), airlines (IATA), airports (ACI), aerospace manufacturers, drone innovators, and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) companies—from all regions of the world.
In 2025, the Council published the CATS Concept of Operations (CATS CONOPS), a groundbreaking roadmap that charts the evolution of airspace management through to 2045. It outlines how the aviation system can safely and sustainably accommodate a growing diversity of airspace users—from traditional commercial aircraft to drones, eVTOLs, and space vehicles.
What makes the CATS initiative exceptional is not only its visionary content, but the way it was developed: through open, voluntary collaboration with no regulatory mandate or funding. It successfully unified a diverse sector around a shared ambition for the future of aviation, and its proposals are now being embraced broadly as a common roadmap for change.
This entry showcases how effective sector representation can go beyond advocacy—by creating meaningful frameworks, catalysing system-wide innovation, and shaping the global agenda for the skies of tomorrow.
Make UK
Make UK was at the forefront of the Government’s decision in 2023 to make ‘full expensing’ permanent, empowering UK manufacturers to invest and grow with greater ease, certainty and flexibility.
Full expensing is a UK tax scheme allowing companies to deduct 100% of the cost of capital equipment from their profits in the year it is bought. At a time of falling business investment and a tricky economic climate, Make UK led a strategic communications and advocacy campaign to make ‘full expensing’ a permanent policy measure. The Government confirmed their intention to implement this policy as part of the 2023 Autumn Statement. Make UK was delighted to play a leading role in this outcome through a combination of membership engagement, creating a solid evidence base, building a strong alliance of hundreds of trade bodies and organisations, and impactful government outreach.
This policy intervention has led to numerous positive outcomes for manufacturers, including:
• Increased business investment in new equipment and technologies.
• Enhanced cash flow and more capital that can be redistributed elsewhere in the business.
• Improved productivity and efficiency in manufacturing processes.
• Reduced tax liability for businesses, freeing up their coffers to invest and grow.
Nautilus International
During the Covid-19 pandemic, maritime professionals including Nautilus International members faced serious mistreatment, with many stranded at sea, denied medical care, and excluded from key worker recognition. In the aftermath, Nautilus resolved to ensure such failures could never happen again.
To achieve lasting change, Nautilus worked in close collaboration and solidarity with international partners, particularly the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), which represents seafarers at the global level, including at United Nations bodies like the International Labour Organization (ILO). As an active part of the global union movement – and an international union in its own right – Nautilus brought its expertise and influence to the table.
Union officials, including General Secretary Mark Dickinson, Assistant General Secretary Sascha Meijer, and Director of Legal Services Charles Boyle, played key roles in detailed negotiations at the UN’s Special Tripartite Committee (STC). This culminated in major amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006, adopted in June 2025.
Key outcomes include:
• Official key worker status for seafarers
• Non-discriminatory repatriation with full cost coverage
• Reinforced shore leave rights
• Protections against abuse, harassment, and legal mistreatment
• Mandatory menstrual hygiene provision onboard
These changes take effect in December 2027 and reflect
The Institute of Employability Professionals
The Institute of Employability Professionals (IEP), the only professional membership body for the employability sector, has taken significant steps in 2024–2025 to elevate the profession globally. Focused on five strategic pillars—quality improvement, cross-sector collaboration, accessible professional development, global expansion, and practitioner voice—IEP has responded to system-wide changes in employment services by launching accredited programs tailored to justice, health, and complex needs.
IEP expanded learning access internationally, delivering programs in Canada, Australia, Bahrain, and Sweden. In partnership with organisations like IPS Grow and Fedcap Canada, IEP developed contextualised training with consistently high learner feedback scores (4.7+/5) and direct impact on practitioner confidence and job outcomes.
IEP hosted 100+ events, launched new mentoring programs in the UK and Australia, and established Centres for Excellence in three countries. Its Fellowship grew by 204 since November 2023, now nearly 350 strong, and 91 new Member Ambassadors were introduced to leadership pathways in 2024.
Over 15,000 practitioners have completed IEP’s Employability Essentials training. Through inclusive, practitioner-led initiatives, IEP has championed the voice of employability professionals, unified the sector, and ensured its members are equipped to support people into sustainable work across the globe.
The Payments Association – Turning the Tide – APP fraud campaign
In 2024, The Payments Association led the UK’s most impactful lobbying campaign in the payments sector, overturning a proposed regulation that threatened to destabilise the industry. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) had introduced a mandatory £415,000 fraud reimbursement cap – intended to protect consumers, but with serious unintended consequences. The policy risked wiping out smaller fintechs, suppressing innovation, and cutting off access to financial services for over one million underbanked individuals.
While others stayed silent, The Payments Association took a principled stand. We engaged ministers, issued a high-profile open letter, and secured national coverage across Bloomberg, the Financial Times, and BBC Radio 4. Within weeks, the regulator reopened its consultation, dramatically reducing the cap – a direct result of our campaign.
The outcome was sector-defining. The PSR reversed its stance, government aligned with our position, and a more proportionate, innovation-friendly model is now in development. On 12 March 2025, the Financial Times confirmed the Prime Minister’s decision to abolish the PSR altogether – citing our role in the pressure that led to overturn the PSR’s wrong policies.
