Skills for the Future Award 2026
Category criteria
- This category will recognise businesses committed to the ongoing training, professional development and upskilling of their workforce.
- This can be via in-house training or external training providers and/or colleges or universities.
Ford Mainwaring
Skills for the Future entrant
For more than 45 years Newcastle-under-Lyme based Ford Mainwaring has been a leading provider of building services, facilities management and mechanical engineering to public sector, high-security and educational establishments nationwide.
The business has grown by 49% since 2022 with an average year-on-year growth rate of around 14%.
The team of 62 employees includes more than 40 qualified gas, plumbing and electrical engineers supported by project managers, contract managers, finance, marketing, recruitment, compliance and administrative staff. Work can include anything from boiler breakdowns and water leaks to planned service and maintenance jobs.
Growth has been driven by strategic expansion within key sectors, including the prison and secure infrastructure markets. The business has diversified by expanding into commercial battery storage projects, strengthening its position within the evolving energy and infrastructure landscape.
Employee retention is strong at Ford Mainwaring with nearly half of the workforce achieving long-service status. It recently held its first Long Service Awards which will become an annual event. 11 employees who were recognised at the event started as engineering apprentices and are now highly skilled, fully qualified gas, plumbing or electrical engineers. One employee joined in an administrative role and has since progressed to Assistant Contract Manager. The Finance Manager celebrates 25 years with the business in July after starting in an administrative position and developing into her current leadership role.
Attracting, developing and retaining local talent is important to the company. In 2025 alone it invested £72,000 in employee training and development.
Developing the next generation of engineers is central to Ford Mainwaring’s long-term strategy. It currently employs five apprentices and is committed to recruiting at least two each year.
CSR is also embedded in the business’s culture. It is a proud member of the Dougie Mac Business Club and has raised more than £6,000 within six months through a variety of fundraisers. In addition, every employee is given one paid volunteering day per year, enabling the team to support community initiatives.
Ford Mainwaring has entered the Business of the Year, Growth and Skills for the Future categories of University of Staffordshire Business Awards.
NeuroTalks
Skills for the Future entrant
University of Staffordshire alumna Jodie Steele has created three brands inspired by her own experiences with neurodiversity.
The 44-year-old, from Stone, graduated in Marketing in 2003 and went on to work in high-pressure sales and marketing roles for multinational businesses including five years working overseas. She has worked for newspaper groups and in both radio and television.
During the pandemic she had a neurological crash which caused problems with her vision and a loss of motor skills on the right side of her body. She also had a late diagnosis of ADHD.
Jodie has spent several years rehabilitating during which the marketeer in her realised that her own lived experience was the basis of a brand that could help other people. That brand is also now becoming an income stream for Jodie.
She founded NeuroTalks, a lived experience led training and consultancy business that supports organisations to build neuro-inclusive, high-performing and psychologically safe environments.
A growing suite of digital products have been developed including free and paid workbooks, training resources and recorded content.
Alongside Neurotalks she has developed complementary ventures Alchemy Souls Travel, an inclusive and wellbeing-led travel storytelling brand, and Aura & Ash, a sustainability-focused lifestyle brand.
All three brands are gaining increased social media interaction. Jodie has been doing paid work through her brands since November including collaborations with the likes of the RSPCA.
Jodie said: “This could have broken a lot of people but if I can use it to help other people then I think that’s a really positive thing and it motivates me to do more.”
Jodie has entered the Alumni Business Person of the Year category of the University of Staffordshire Business Awards and has entered NeuroTalks into the Innovation, Skills For The Future and Business in the Community categories.
She added: “I’m a graduate of University of Staffordshire and this is not simply a historical detail; it is part of my identity as a business leader. The value of that learning, real-world relevance and community connection continue to influence how I operate today.
“I represent the kind of graduate who builds impact over time and offers sustained contribution; not a single business, but an ecosystem; not profit at the expense of people, but performance through inclusion.
“To be recognised as Alumni Business Person of the Year would not only reflect my own journey but would shine a light on the importance of neuro-inclusive leadership, wellbeing-led innovation and values-driven entrepreneurship - areas that increasingly define future work, travel and community life.”
Ultra Clean Canines
Skills for the Future entrant
It’s been a year of development and innovation for the owners of Weston Coyney-based Ultra Clean Canines, who are about to launch an own-brand product.
They have been working with a manufacturer and packaging experts to bring to the market a dog hygiene product which was the brainchild of company founder Emma Cartlich.
The core business is a training academy set up by Emma in 2020 to combine her teaching qualifications with her expertise with an ultrasonic toothbrush for pets.
Emma and husband Adrian both completed emmi®-pet face-to-face training, bought an emmi®-pet ultrasonic toothbrush and started to deliver an emmi®-pet teeth cleaning, oral care and maintenance service in the Staffordshire and Cheshire area.
They then decided to create and deliver emmi®-pet seminars to teach and support pet care professionals, especially dog groomers, how to successfully implement the emmi®-pet into their business. Emma’s dream of running her own training academy was born.
Emma created a Zoom seminar for pet care professionals and offers the same course in an online pre-recorded version which is hosted on her own, one-of-a-kind learning management system.
E-learning has now overtaken Zoom seminars as people are able to complete the training at a time, location and pace that suits them. Over the past year Emma has also started to meet a demand for in-person training sessions.
All courses are officially endorsed by the manufacturer of the equipment and include certification.
Word spread and Emma was approached by a dog grooming college to deliver training to their students and course tutors. She now works with a number of colleges around the UK, has her training included in City and Guilds dog grooming courses and is currently creating a mini course for another dog grooming academy.
2025 saw Ultra Clean Canines become Supplier of the Year finalists in the Pet Industry Federation Awards, develop a partnership with Micropet Franchise Network and have editorial articles in Edition Dog and Edition Dog Professionals magazines.
They are now looking to launch a podcast with guests speakers to spread the message about canine oral health.
Ultra Clean Canines has entered the Skills for the Future and Small Business of the Year categories of University of Staffordshire Business Awards.
Precious Pets Weddings
Skills for the Future entrant
When rival businesses entered their sector the owners of Precious Pets Weddings didn’t see it as a threat, they saw it as a business opportunity.
Launched in 2018 and featured on TV’s The One Show, This Morning and Dragons’ Den, their business was among the first in the UK to offer a professional service for people who want their pet dog at their wedding.
Weston Coyney based owners Emma and Adrian Cartlich have now launched a training arm to their business to upskill the likes of dog groomers and professional dog walkers who want to expand into the wedding market.
“We were one of the first in the UK to offer this service,” said Emma. “Now we have other people turning up at weddings calling themselves dog chaperones but without the experience which could potentially damage the reputation of the dog chaperone service.”
Emma, who has a background in training, has created a CPD accredited wedding dog chaperone course which she says is designed to put the welfare of dogs first.
“People are going to be setting themselves up in business anyway but if they have been properly trained and had guidance from one of the first businesses in that field in the UK then it will be better for everyone.”
Emma has already had interest in the course from Australia and the US as well as the UK.
The training is currently being delivered over Zoom but Emma plans to move it onto a learning management system so that people can access it at their own pace.
Emms and Adrian recently invested in new custom crates and have had their chaperone vehicle revamped.
They caught the eye of Theo Paphitis when they appeared on Dragons’ Den and he has invited them to attend his small business event for the fourth year in a row.
Emma and Adrian plan, co-ordinate and take away stress for the happy couple so that their dog can be a big part of their wedding day.
They enable dogs to be ring bearers, meet and greeters, the best man, a bridesmaid or simply to attend for an hour to be part of the photographs.
Emma and Adrian even have a Wedding Wheels dog van and a Mini Cooper decorated with paw print weddingsribbons and bows so that pets can arrive in style.
Every dog chaperone package is bespoke and can include full day pet care if needed.
They work at weddings around the region and are increasingly recommended by wedding venues. They recently worked at their biggest wedding to date, chaperoning six dogs.
Precious Pets Weddings has entered the Small Business of the Year and Skills for the Future categories of the University of Staffordshire Business Awards.