Apply for the Maritime Solent Awards 2025

Nominations for this Award are made by employers or trainers for apprentices or cadets who have shown exceptional personal and professional development and made a positive impact on their organisation. This category is for all apprentices or cadets employed or being trained in the maritime sector, regardless of which apprenticeship pathway they are following, and does not have to be a traditional marine or maritime framework. The Apprenticeship or cadetship must have completed in the 2024/25 academic year or will complete in the 2025/26 academic year.

N.B. The nominated apprentice or cadet must either be:

• currently on programme,
• or they have received their End of Point Assessment Certificate/Officer of the Watch Certificate between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025.

Any nominees who do not fit within the stated time parameters will not be considered.

This is an award for a business or organisation based in the Solent who has developed, tested, operated, and/or commercialised new innovations, products or services that have made (or have the potential to make) a significant contribution to a lower carbon Maritime sector.

This is an award for an organisation within the Solent’s maritime sector, that has demonstrated itself to be a changemaker in the realm of diversity. They will evidence an ethos that embraces diversity, through its operational, daily approach, its strategic direction, and its policies. This is your opportunity to showcase the work your organisation is doing to secure a diverse workforce.

This award is for a large business (over 250 employees) that has made a tangible contribution to meeting the future skills needs of the Solent’s maritime sector. The winner will be delivering pioneering staff development and/or educational course activity to help match available skills to the emerging and future requirements of the sector, including upskilling and / or education outreach. Applicants may be businesses or skills / training providers.

This award is for a small business (up to 249 employees) that has made a tangible contribution to meeting the future skills needs of the Solent’s maritime sector. The winner will be delivering pioneering staff development or educational course activity to help match available skills to the emerging and future requirements of the sector, including upskilling and / or education outreach. Applicants may be businesses or skills / training providers.

This award is open to maritime businesses based in the Solent that have over 250 employees. This is your opportunity to showcase how great your large business is and what you have achieved over the past few years within the sector. You may have grown rapidly, pivoted your operation to safeguard your future or explore an opportunity, invested in workforce development, improved sustainability, developed new products or services, or secured key new contracts. Tell us your story. Applications that can strengthen their story with numbers (e.g. new job, turnover growth) will be favoured.

This award celebrates outstanding contributions by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small businesses within the maritime defence sector. It recognises those who play a pivotal role in supporting major defence contractors (primes) through innovation, reliability, and excellence in supply chain delivery. Applications for this award can be: a supply chain business nominated by a prime, or applied for by the supply chain business – or a joint application from the prime and the supply chain business.

This category will accept nominations only. Self-nominations are not permitted. This will be awarded to an individual who has made a significant impact to the strength of the Solent Maritime Sector, leaving a legacy. For example, this may include one or more of the following: Founded and/or grown a maritime business; Supported young people and apprentices; Been an ambassador for the Solent’s maritime sector; Shown leadership in the sector; Been critical to the growth of a Solent-based maritime business; Provided strong leadership to a maritime organisation; Innovated; Led new research that has moved knowledge forward.

This award is open to organisations of any size working in the logistics industry who can demonstrate excellence in maritime and operations that support maritime, encompassing any modes of transport. This award aims to recognise businesses that demonstrate outstanding performance in ensuring the efficient, secure, and timely movement of goods and equipment in support of maritime operations.

This award is open to maritime businesses based in the Solent that have up to 250 employees. This is your opportunity to showcase how great your small business is and what you have achieved over the past few years. You may have grown rapidly, pivoted your operation to safeguard your future or explore an opportunity, invested in workforce development, developed new products or services, improved sustainability, or secured key new contracts. Tell us your story. Applications that can strengthen their story with numbers (e.g. new job, turnover growth) will be favoured.

Applicants for this award will have started to trade no earlier than three years from the date of entry, will be ‘independently owned’, and are a maritime business, or in the supply chain, and based in the Solent. Applicants that can evidence rapid growth and / or innovation will be favoured.

This award aims to recognise innovation, tangible impact, and long-term commitment to sustainability. It is open to an organisation of any size but applicants that can demonstrate scale of impact and show leadership will be favoured. Applicants should demonstrate impact across one or more of the following:

• Environmental Stewardship (For example: Reduction of carbon emissions, waste management, ocean conservation, efficient use of resources)
• Sustainable Business Practices (For example: Investment in local supply chains, investment in circular economy models, ethical supply chain management, local community engagement, measurable impact)
• Industry Leadership and Innovation (For example: Pioneering new technologies, Advocacy for sustainable policies within the sector; Collaboration with others in the sector).
• Social and Community Impact (For example: Efforts to support coastal communities; Protection of marine ecosystems; Training programmes).
• Longevity and Commitment (For example: Evidence of long term sustainability integration into business strategy)

This is an award for a maritime, services or supply chain business or organisation who are leading the way in new technology that will be ‘game-changing’ in the maritime sector in any area of operations. This will be through embracing new technologies to create new products, services, processes or practises. Applications that can demonstrate the use of novel technologies to respond to industry challenges will be favoured.