CPA Bulletin

6 CPA Bulletin > February 2025 www.cpa.uk.net The nomination process is relatively straightforward - there are no costs involved and all you need to do is complete a nomination form which can be downloaded from the CPA website at www.cpa.uk.net . There are three sections to complete – one for the employer, one for the training provider and one for the nominee. The closing deadline for nominations is 21st March 2025 so it’s advisable to start now to allow you plenty of time for completion. The winners will be announced at a prestigious awards ceremony at the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre in Fillongley, near Coventry, on Thursday 10th July 2025 . The event will be hosted by Peter Haddock , who is well known in the plant-hire world as a content creator, journalist, PR specialist, podcaster, vlogger and event host. Awards will be made for the well-established categories of Plant Mechanic of the Year (Level 2), Plant Technician of the Year (Level 3), Plant Operative of the Year, Young Plant Operative of the Year, Plant Installer of the Year, Lifting Technician of the Year, Hire Controller of the Year and Apprentice Mentor of the Year. All nominees are also eligible for special awards including the Judges’ Special Award and the Best Personal Statement Award. In recognition of the growth of the awards over the last 12 years, a new awards category has been added for 2025 for Technical Support Person of the Year. This award, as requested by CPA members, is for apprentices or trainees who are in a role that has a plant technical focus and who are supporting other plant-focused operations of their business such as data handling and supply, hiring activities, sales and marketing activities, parts and/ or resources/equipment supply, machine/ equipment systems programming/ maintenance, site operational planning, supporting external customers, etc. With a wide range of potential supporting occupations, the CPA Stars of the Future Selection Panel will aim to include a wide range of roles. However, to ensure parity with the other plant apprenticeship categories, CPA will ultimately decide whether the nomination meets their criteria of a Technical Support role. Regretfully, nominations cannot be accepted for what would be considered general administrative or management functions. Steve Mulholland, CPA Chief Executive Officer said: “We urge employees - both small and large - to nominate apprentices and trainees who they see as being the industry’s future leaders, as it means the world to them to be nominated for an award. The awards are open to all employers across the industry, so nominating organisations needn’t be a CPA member to put someone forward. STARS OF THE FUTURE: 1 Open for Nominations We are very pleased to advise that the CPA Stars of the Future Awards 2025 are now open for entries. We would like to invite all CPA members with apprentices and trainees in your workforce to consider making nominations for outstanding apprentices who you see as being the industry’s future leaders. It really does mean the world to apprentices to be nominated for such an award.