The chance of a prestigious prize at the most exciting night of the year for Scotland’s electrical industry has been once again increased with the addition of two new categories to the SELECT Industry Awards for 2018.

The race is now on in the pursuit of excellence as companies and individuals are invited to demonstrate why they are at the top of their profession. The deadline for entries has been revealed as Friday June 29.

As well as the established award categories - which include, Apprentice of the Year and Lifetime Achievement - there will now be an opportunity for businesses of various sizes to enter the awards to win either Best Small, Medium or Large Contractor of the Year.

The Small Contractor category will be open to all SELECT member companies with a turnover of up to £250,000; Medium Contractors – a new award opportunity – will be in the range of £250,000 to £1 million; Large Contractors – also a new award – will be in excess of £1m.

The awards will also be a first for new SELECT managing director Darrell Matthews, who will take over the reins from Newell McGuiness over the course of this year.

He said: “SELECT has a tremendous track record as a campaigning professional body for the electrical sector and the awards will once again highlight the skills, dedication and commitment of the people in our industry. They also come at a time when we are pushing hard for professional recognition for electricians.

“From apprentices to journeymen, from small local businesses to major enterprises, from technically exciting manufacturers to environmentally aware innovators, the awards will showcase all that is best in our safety-critical business.”

SELECT is once again expecting record entrants and attendance this year’s awards ceremony which, as in years past, will be held at the stylish Radisson Blu in Glasgow on Friday, October 12.

There will also be new judges facing the challenge of deciding the winners – former Clydesdale Bank chairman Ken Lewandowski and the editor of CABLEtalk, Ian Mason.

Ken Lewandowski said: “I am delighted to be joining the panel and I am anticipating a difficult task in choosing the winners. There are some great companies in the electrical sector in Scotland and this is a well-deserved chance for them to shine.”