WJA Awards 2026: celebrating young people to encourage the next generation to join our industry
The water jetting industry has its work cut out to attract talented young people but has a huge amount to offer in terms of the variety of work, job satisfaction and career opportunities.
That’s the view of Steve Smith who has a good deal of experience of recruiting younger people as Group Managing Director of water jetting pump systems manufacturer Flowplant.
Attracting young people to close skills gaps
It is why he welcomes the opportunity to showcase the talent and achievements of young people through the WJA Awards 2026, the UK’s first water jetting industry awards.
Young Person of the Year is one of 10 categories in the WJA Awards, which are being held on the evening of the association’s annual general meeting on Friday 18th September 2026.
WJA Director Leanne Smith says: “Any person under the age of 30 working for a WJA member organisation can be entered. They may be doing brilliant work as an operative, may have progressed quickly, or shown talent in contributing to a specific project.”
Attracting school and college leavers is a challenge across many industries that use water jetting, including industrial cleaning and water utilities. It is a trend that is contributing to concerns about skills gaps in the coming years.
Great career opportunities in water jetting
Steve Smith, who is a WJA Board Member, explains: “We give talks in schools, we attend local school leaver jobs fairs, and we hold our own annual factory open day for a local school to show pupils what we do, an experience they seem to like.
“We ask them what they want to do when they leave school and one of the most popular new career choices is social media influencer. It’s no surprise that manufacturing water pumps doesn’t get mention.”
Despite that, Flowplant does have success in recruiting young people, with some taking the chance to develop good careers with both hands.
Steve explains: “We offer good opportunities to progress quickly, take on a lot of responsibility and learn a lot of technical and business skills, as well as an attractive employee benefits package. The work can be very varied and, at Flowplant, you can be working with people all over the world.”
Water jetting – a daily sense of achievement
WJA technical board member David Malin, director of water jetting contractor Sabre Jetting, in Birmingham, agrees that recruiting young water jetting operatives can be a challenge.
He says: “Most of our operatives come to us in their 30s, often recommended by their friends, after doing other jobs.
“They enjoy the technical and physical challenge, the camaraderie and the daily sense of achievement of providing clients with a critical solution through water jetting.
“Using the WJA Awards to promote the contribution of younger people is a great idea. It will raise awareness of the great career opportunities available, and we should do everything we can to keep young talent in the industry.”
Becoming a water jetting operative is often the starting point of what can be a rewarding career. WJA members must provide their operatives with the association’s City & Guilds-accredited training.
There are then opportunities to progress through other roles, such as becoming a works supervisor and then moving on to become operations, technical or sales managers.
Submit an entry to the WJA Awards
Submitting your entry for the WJA Young Person of the Year Award 2026 is simple. Nominated individuals must be aged under 30 and working for a WJA member.
To find out more, go to the WJA Awards page. Here are six other awards individuals or organisations can enter or have submissions made on their behalf:
Best Photo
Trainer of the Year
Innovation of the Year
Manufacturer of the Year
Outstanding Contribution
Operative of the Year
[Button] Go to the WJA Awards Page