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Categories 2025
Apprentice of the Year
Sponsored by TBC
The “Apprentice of the Year” award recognises exceptional contributions by apprentices within our business community. To be eligible, nominees must have successfully completed a relevant qualification as part of their apprenticeship in the last two years or are currently studying. Judges consider factors such as outstanding achievement, commitment to personal development, safety awareness, and positive impact on the workplace. Demonstrating how their learning directly applies to their role is essential.
Business Growth Success Story
Sponsored by TBC
Small and Medium businesses are the engine of British business and many are growing despite economic conditions and the changes to international trade. Has your business grown despite all the challenges of the past few years? Whatever the size of your organisation – whether it’s run from your spare room or you have offices and hundreds of staff – if you have beaten the odds to deliver growth, we want to know what has made you so successful.
Business Leader of the Year
Sponsored by TBC
Incredible leaders have a ripple effect across everyone they know. If you know someone who has made a real impact in business, this is the category to nominate them. Maybe they have built or transformed a business or created a unique proposition. They could have led a business unit or service through a difficult time, and it emerged stronger as a result. We’re seeking stories of vision, leadership, and success; of calculated risks and grasped opportunities; and of resilience in the face of challenge. It’s not the size of the business that matters, but the size of the difference they made to it.
For this category we will accept self-nominations and entries from an organisation for one of their leaders.
Collaboration of the Year
Sponsored by TBC
Have you successfully worked with other businesses from the Wakefield district to create an amazing collaboration? How have you added value to one another’s offer, or how have you helped a local business to even more success? This award will recognise the ways in which we are more than the sum of our parts. Tell us about how the collaboration came about, and how both/all parties have benefitted.
Digital/Creative Business of the Year
Sponsored by Tileyard North
The Wakefield district has a well-deserved reputation for being a creative and digital hub, being home to a diverse range of businesses which fall into that sector. If your business is a creative or digital one and you’ve done amazing things, use this category to tell us all about it. From gaming companies to music schools, creative agencies to copywriters, through to artists and artisans, we want to showcase the wide range of incredible creative talent Wakefield has to offer.
Doing Good in Business
Sponsored by TBC
Businesses should be responsible citizens too. This award will be presented to the company with the best corporate social responsibility plan, relative to its size. You don’t have to donate thousands to charity or try to save the world, you just have to be doing your bit to make it a better place. If there’s a link between your activities and your business, even better. Maybe you’re volunteering for a charity close to your heart. Perhaps you’ve given some of your skills for free to a cause that deserves the support. You could have done brilliant work on sustainability and be well on your way to slicing your carbon footprint in half.
You’ll need a plan, a reason why you’ve chosen to do what you do, and a way to demonstrate how you’re making a difference to impress the judges.
Employer of the Year
Sponsored by TBC
Are you a truly outstanding employer? Have you listened to your people and created terms, conditions and an environment which truly helps them to thrive? Are you inclusive, flexible and understanding that people can’t totally switch off what’s going on at home when they come to work? Show us why you are head and shoulders above the rest and should be named Wakefield District employer of the year.
Medium or large business of the year – businesses with more than 50 employees
Sponsored by TBC
Celebrating the contribution that medium and large businesses make to the Wakefield district, this award will be given to an organisation which demonstrates consistent growth, strong financial performance, a deep understanding of its customers and an engaged workforce.
Show the judges your strategy for sustained success, how you’re harnessing technology and/or why your strategy is paying off. Give them insight and strong evidence to support your story and demonstrate your impact.
Micro or small business of the year – businesses with 0-50 employees
Sponsored by TBC
Micro and small businesses rock too! Tell us about how you are small-but-mighty. Name-drop as much as you want (or are able to) and help the judges understand why you’re making a huge impact with a small team.
If you’ve had a year to remember, delivered a stand-out project, or just think you and your team deserve your moment in the spotlight, this is your opportunity to show the whole business community why micro and small businesses are not to be under-estimated.
Multicultural Excellence Award
Sponsored by TBC
With our district becoming increasingly diverse – more than 20 languages are spoken across the area – organisations which channel the power of this diversity will create a clear advantage. Does your business promote inclusion, break down barriers, and empower marginalised communities? Have you harnessed the positive impacts of the district’s increasingly diverse community? Would people say your organisation truly operates equitably and inclusively?
This award showcases businesses that foster diversity in all forms—whether ethnic, cultural, or social.
This award will be judged based on:
- Commitment to diversity and inclusion: A clear commitment to fostering diversity within the workplace, workforce, and wider community
- Creativity in addressing barriers and promoting unity: How have you creatively broken down barriers and helped people from a range of backgrounds?
- Leadership: Evidence of sharing what you’ve learned and acting as a role model to lead the way for others
- Collaboration: Using diverse voices to help you shape your activities or working together to achieve results that are more than the sum of their parts
- Success against your objectives: Whether the impact has been a more diverse workforce, better engagement with marginalised or under-represented groups, or another measure, show us what you aimed to achieve and how you fared against those targets
Not-for-profit/Charity of the Year
Sponsored by TBC
We need our third sector more than ever as issues with the cost of living still have us firmly in their grasp. Not for profit organisations fulfil an incredible need, supporting the most vulnerable and providing essential as well as enriching services. If your organisation is voluntary, not for profit or a registered charity, this is the category for you. THIS CATEGORY IS FREE TO ENTER.
Rising star – for under 30s
Sponsored by TBC
Do you know an under-30 who’s already making their mark? Maybe they have recently taken on extra responsibilities or gone above and beyond what you’d expect for them. We’re looking for stand-out individuals making a significant contribution to their organisation, whether through improving internal communication, exceeding their targets set or receiving notable recognition from clients and customers.
Nominees for this category must be 29 or younger on 13 November 2025. Nominations must be made by someone other than the potential rising star!
Team of the Year
Sponsored by TBC
Teams competing for this award should showcase tangible outcomes. Highlight how your team’s efforts have positively influenced the company or organisaton’s success, growth, or strategic goals.
Describe how your team worked together to overcome obstacles or challenges. Whether it was a complex project, a tight deadline, or unexpected setbacks, emphasise your team’s resilience and problem-solving abilities.
Remember, winning the Team of the Year award is not just about individual achievements; it’s about collective excellence, synergy, and shared success.
The Wakefield Business Awards is now open for entries!
Early bird entries submitted up to 23 May – £50 + VAT per Entry
Entries submitted 23 May to 13th June – £65 + VAT per Entry
Closing date for entries: 21st June 2025
Finalists will be announced week commencing 18th August 2025.
