Highley Commended Apprentice of the Year at Energy Awards 2025 for Vital Heating Solutions

Lucia Arnone recognised at Energy Awards 2025 marked a major milestone for our team at Vital Heating Solutions.

The event brought together leading voices from the energy sector to celebrate progress, innovation, and people who are driving positive change.

Lucia’s recognition as 'highly commended' highlighted her commitment to strategic growth and inclusion in the energy efficiency space.

Being Recognised at the Energy Awards 2025 Is a Moment to Celebrate

Lucia being recognised at the Energy Awards 2025 was not just about an individual moment. It was the culmination of years of commitment to progress.

Her work across strategic partnerships, inclusive hiring, and organisational leadership has played a key role in how we grow and deliver sustainable services at Vital Heating Solutions.

Lucia’s approach combines practical thinking with purpose-led goals. She helps bridge the gap between engineering outcomes and social value. Her efforts were visible not only to us but to an independent panel of judges who acknowledged her work with a Highly Commended Award at one of the most competitive energy award events in the country.

Lucia said: "I got a Highly Commended award … yay.”

That moment summed up her genuine spirit, focus on teamwork, and ability to lead with humility.

A Memorable Night for Networking and Recognition

The Energy Awards 2025 were held in the North West, bringing together organisations, contractors, policy influencers, and professionals from across the UK. The event was about more than just trophies—it was a platform for building relationships, exchanging ideas, and shaping the future of our sector.

Networking was a highlight of the evening. We had valuable conversations with:

Local authority representatives managing decarbonisation targets
Commercial project leads working on net zero strategies
Apprenticeship providers seeking stronger SME partnerships
These discussions weren’t just introductions—they were the start of collaborations that could reshape how we work.

Lucia Arnone being recognised at Energy Awards 2025 was the conversation starter that gave us real credibility. Her award opened doors and made people stop and ask about our journey and what drives our success.

What makes Lucia’s recognition stand out

In a sector full of innovation, it’s not easy to stand out. But Lucia’s approach goes beyond metrics and KPIs. Her work is about culture, inclusion, and resilience. At a time when the energy sector is adapting to rising costs, climate goals, and workforce shortages, her ability to lead through change is invaluable.

Why Lucia Arnone was recognised at Energy Awards 2025:

She led our strategy to support inclusive hiring, improving diversity within our technical teams.
She strengthened partnerships with organisations like We Are Power and BT Group to support skills and leadership development.
She helped refine internal systems to improve transparency, performance, and values alignment across the company.
Lucia’s recognition wasn’t just deserved—it was overdue.

How the Energy Awards 2025 Created Real Business Impact

There are events that simply acknowledge success. Then there are events that shape what happens next. The Energy Awards 2025 fell into the second category. We left inspired, informed, and ready to act.

Key moments that stood out:

Learning about retrofit financing innovations through casual conversations
Discovering supplier partners offering time-saving heating solutions
Hearing directly from public sector leads about procurement changes
Engaging with award-winning SMEs solving specific decarbonisation problems
The contacts we made that night have already led to follow-up meetings, one new tender opportunity, and multiple shared resources we’ll use internally.

Lucia being recognised at the Energy Awards 2025 also sparked new interest in our work. People wanted to know more about how we build team culture and drive innovation—two areas Lucia directly influences.

Internal Changes Sparked by Lucia’s Award

It’s one thing to celebrate someone’s success. It’s another to use that moment as a catalyst for internal change. Since the awards, we’ve taken a fresh look at how we support and recognise our own people.

Immediate actions inspired by Lucia’s recognition include:

Launching a monthly peer-nomination scheme
Refreshing our apprentice spotlight programme
Creating time for all staff to suggest innovation or improvement ideas
Identifying team members we could nominate in 2026
Recognition is a cycle. One win builds energy for the next. Lucia’s recognition at Energy Awards 2025 has become the moment that’s sparked many more conversations about leadership, contribution, and appreciation.

SUCCESS

Lucia’s recognition also matters for another reason. The energy and engineering space still faces a gender imbalance. Seeing Lucia Arnone recognised at Energy Awards 2025 sent a powerful message that change is happening.

She stands as a visible example of how women in energy can lead with both technical awareness and social purpose. Her approach blends commercial success with community impact—a balance more organisations are striving for today.

At the event, several attendees pointed to Lucia’s nomination and commendation as evidence that the sector is evolving. For us, this reinforces the need to:

Support women in technical roles
Build flexible leadership pathways
Encourage mentoring across the sector

Highlights from the evening

The awards evening delivered on every front—atmosphere, insight, and opportunity. A few moments stood out:

1. Conversations that mattered:
We spoke with several attendees who had been tracking our growth via LinkedIn or sector updates. They were eager to know how we approached hiring, training, and strategic development.

2. Praise from past partners:
A local authority contact said, “It’s great to see Lucia get that recognition. She’s one of the reasons we’ve stayed in touch with your team.”

3. Future ideas in motion:
We’re already planning a collaborative bid with another finalist we met at the event. That opportunity wouldn’t exist without being in the room.

Lucia’s recognition at Energy Awards 2025 made us part of the story—but it also made us part of the future conversations shaping the sector.

How we’re using this momentum

We’ve returned from the event with more than a certificate—we have new energy, new contacts, and a clearer sense of how to grow.

Being recognised at the Energy Awards 2025 gave us:

A reason to reflect
A platform to promote the values we care about
A story to share with partners, clients, and future employees
That momentum is now fuelling:

Internal workshops on purpose-led delivery
Stronger visibility of leadership development across departments
Plans to build better links with colleges, training hubs, and mentoring networks

What’s Next for Lucia and Vital Heating Solutions

Lucia’s journey continues. The recognition is already opening new doors.

For Vital Heating Solutions, the goal is clear: keep growing with purpose, keep investing in people, and keep showing up for the sector.

And as we reflect on the awards night, we know this wasn’t the finish line—it was a launchpad.

Why recognition like this matters

Lucia being recognised at Energy Awards 2025 proves that leadership in energy is about more than just numbers. It’s about people who connect strategy to real-world outcomes. People who make space for others to grow. And people who keep pushing even when the work is hard.

Her success is a reminder to every SME, contractor, and consultancy:

Celebrate your people
Show your impact
We’re proud of Lucia—and even more excited about what comes next.