The 2025 National Mentoring Matters Awards, organised by Enterprise Nation, Newable, and the Association of Business Mentors (ABM), celebrated the hard work of the mentors on the Help to Grow: Management Course as well as mentees.
The event took place at Ironmongers’ Hall in London and had a fantastic range of speakers, including: Georgina Waite, CEO of the Association of Business Mentors (ABM); Founder of HomeServe, Richard Harpin; and BBC Broadcaster, Dave Sharpe.
The winners of the 2025 awards were:
· Phil Howell – Outstanding Achievement Special Award - Mentoring Hours
· Andrew Lowden – Outstanding Achievement Special Award – Mentorships
· Sarah Cassidy – The Mentor’s Choice Award
· Elizabeth Emelogu – Most Inspirational Mentor Award
· Nigel Lang – Excellence in Mentoring Award
· Olly Reid – The Innovation Award
· Ian Corner – Biggest Impact Award
· Lisa Munro – Excellence through Diversity
· Arianna Cerrito – Outstanding Contribution Award
· Will Lockie – The Best Mentor - Business Impact
· Stephen Baxter – The Best Mentor - Personal Impact
Sarah Cassidy, Operations & Workplace Manager at 3manfactory and Help to Grow: Management alumni, commented on what it meant to her to win the Mentors Choice Award: “I was incredibly surprised and really honoured to receive such a prestigious award. My mentor, Liz King, obviously knows the journey I’ve been through and to be recognised has been amazing.”
Sarah met Liz, while participating in the Help to Grow: Management Course at the University of Central Lancashire. Sarah was able to select her Liz from more than 3,000 mentors across the UK as part of the course. Initially unsure about the effectiveness of mentors, Sarah was pleasantly surprised by the process: “I really liked that I had a platform to investigate mentors and see what they could help me with before reaching out. I wanted a strategic mentor and that was Liz’s skillset.
“Liz got to know me and my personal goals so she could tailor her advice to help me as well my business. We went on to address our company’s strategy and operations so that we could take positive steps forward. To now be recognised after this work is just such an honour.”
The Help to Grow: Management Course includes 10 hours of 1-2-1 mentoring. You can find out more about the 1-2-1 mentoring offered on the Help to Grow: Management Course here.
