The Eighth Annual Nimble Awards are in motion! We’re thrilled to announce this year’s finalists and celebrate the amazing work being done by Nimble customers of all kinds.
Once again, we received a fantastic range of entries from organisations large and small across different sectors. Our expert judging panel – made up of professionals in elearning, learning design and business – had their work cut out for them. It’s always a joy finding out about the many wonderful things our customers do, the courses they create and the impact they’re having. It’s never easy for the judges to decide on their shortlists, but this year was a particular challenge, with an array of high-quality projects from a range of industries.
The judges took a deep dive into each submission, exploring the details behind each training programme: what learning is being delivered, how it’s supported, the quality of the elearning content, and the real-world impact it’s having on people and organisations.
With judging now wrapped up for the three categories – Positive Business Impact, Course of the Year, and Charity Champions – all that’s left is the exciting wait to find out who the winners are!
Winners will be revealed at a special awards ceremony during Nimble Community Day on Wednesday 17 September at Stonehouse Court Hotel, Gloucestershire.
Nimble Community Day is one of the highlights of our calendar, bringing customers together to explore, share and chat about all things learning.
The 2025 Nimble Awards finalists and their categories are:
Course of the Year
This award will be presented to an organisation or individual who displays excellence in the design and delivery of an elearning course through Nimble.
Judges looked for a course that demonstrates sound instructional design principles, delivered in a creative or engaging way. They looked for evidence of working towards a project brief with key stakeholder engagement throughout, and a clear focus on learner experience. Evidence against success criteria was also considered by the judges.
Car Finance 247: Mastering Cyber Security Essentials
Car Finance 247 is a UK-based online car finance broker. Their mission is to make vehicle financing accessible and straightforward, even for people with imperfect credit, offering no-deposit options and personal support from account managers along the way. Their course, Mastering Cyber Security Essentials, is aimed at all employees at every level of the business, with the aim of raising awareness of cyber threats and equipping staff to respond appropriately to potential risks.
Judges’ comments:
This course is a great example of how to take a potentially dry or technical subject and turn it into something clear, engaging, and well-structured. One of its standout features is the use of high quality, professionally delivered video; a great way to humanise the content and offer a more dynamic learning experience. The tone throughout is confident, friendly, and direct — perfect for demystifying technical topics like cyber threats and password security.
Dick Lovett: Recycling at Dick Lovett
Dick Lovett Group is a family-run automotive dealership based in the south west of the UK, with over 50 years in the business. They represent some of the UK’s top automotive brands, with official dealerships in Bristol, Swindon, Hungerford, Tewkesbury, Newport, and Melksham employing nearly 1,000 people. Their course, Recycling at Dick Lovett, is a ten-minute microcourse designed in response to new legislation. It aims to get all employees up to speed with what and how to recycle at work and at home.
Judges’ comments:
This is a well-targeted and focused micro course that delivers real clarity for learners. Throughout the course, there is clear evidence of strong learning design techniques. Key takeaways are well signposted, and important messages are easy to spot and remember. The use of knowledge checks is especially effective, testing understanding in a meaningful way by prompting learners to reflect before answers are revealed, and relating directly to real-life work scenarios. Overall, this is a well-executed course that strikes a great balance between clarity, engagement, and practical relevance. Well done!
PSTAX: IR35 Off Payroll E-Learning
PSTAX is a UK-based tax consultancy firm dedicated to public‑sector bodies, including local authorities, police, fire, and the NHS. They provide specialist advice and training across VAT, employment taxes, land taxes and IR35 compliance. Their course was developed to provide clear and practical training on the IR35 off-payroll working rules.
Judges’ comments:
These modules do a commendable job of tackling a large volume of complex content, including industry-specific terminology, rules, and processes that require clear and careful explanation. The course has clearly been designed with accessibility in mind, offering a strong blend of video and audio content. Efforts to clarify key points through examples help to reinforce understanding and add valuable context and relevance. Knowledge checks are used well, and the summarising of key takeaways at the end of topics is helpful in consolidating learning.
Positive Business Impact
This award will be presented to the organisation or individual demonstrating significant business impact through the use of elearning.
This could have been an internal project, a commercial venture, reseller initiative or professional course build. Entrants may also have wished to highlight how elearning has had an impact on their response to ongoing economic challenges, and the rise of remote and hybrid working. Judges looked for clear objectives for the use of elearning, a well-considered project plan, defined success criteria, marketing campaign (if applicable), and an indication of the performance improvement or revenue generation achieved.
DFDS
DFDS is a major Danish shipping and logistics company; their mission is to connect people and goods across Europe efficiently and sustainably. Their entry was based around their online training that helps thousands of crew members familiarise themselves with ship safety rules and rescue procedures before boarding, rounded off with an in-person onboard safety tour by the Chief Officer.
Judges’ comments:
DFDS took on a bold challenge – transforming the familiarisation process for over 5,000 seafarers – and delivered a smart, scalable solution with real business impact. By shifting theoretical training to Nimble and reserving only the safety tour for onboard delivery, they’ve saved hundreds of hours across the fleet while ensuring every crew member receives consistent, high-quality safety training. The results speak for themselves: high completion rates, happier officers, and a more standardised, efficient onboarding process. This is a fantastic example of elearning driving measurable productivity gains and strengthening safety culture at scale.
OATA
OATA (Ornamental Aquatic Trade Association) is the UK’s dedicated trade body for the ornamental fishkeeping industry. They work to promote and protect the trade by setting high standards, offering training, and supporting responsible fish ownership. They entered with their City and Guilds accredited training programmes, aimed at aquarium industry professionals – and instrumental in helping retailers obtain a pet shop licence under current legislation.
Judges’ comments:
OATA has shown impressive ambition and adaptability, taking their specialist, accredited training online with the support of Nimble. Their training not only supports professional standards and animal welfare across the aquatic trade, but also plays a key role in helping retailers meet licensing requirements. The resulting growth in learner numbers and positive feedback reflects the success of their approach – boosting revenue that’s reinvested to support the industry. A fantastic achievement from a passionate, expert-led team.
Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd (SATCoL)
SATCoL is the trading arm of The Salvation Army in the UK, running around 9,000 clothing banks and 250+ charity shops, plus supporting their parent charity with publishing, music and recording services. The organisation has around 1,500 staff and 6,000 volunteers that need training; a huge task! Their entry centred around the series of refresher courses on key topics (including safeguarding, health and safety, and mental health) that the L&D team developed to boost compliance and learner engagement.
Judges’ comments:
SATCoL impressed with their Quarterly Reset project, tackling low engagement and compliance risks by shifting from annual to quarterly elearning refreshers. Backed by their Training Tuesday initiative and internal Learning Hub, they achieved 90% completion in six weeks and doubled engagement with learning resources. Their thoughtful approach, clear communication, and commitment to continuous improvement made a real impact across the business, building a stronger culture of learning by bringing it to life. SATcoL have now achieved the holy grail of learner engagement with colleagues asking ‘what’s next?’ with their learning!
Charity Champions
Awards will be presented to the organisation or individual demonstrating significant impact to a charity or non-profit through the use of elearning; this could be within the local community, or as part of a wider positive societal force for change.
All types of organisations were invited to apply, but this category is particularly suited to charities and non-profit organisations, or to businesses that have supported a charity through the use of elearning.
Dick Lovett
Dick Lovett Group are passionate about giving back to the community, and in 2019 a group of managers chose to set up their own charity: The Lovett Foundation. From the start, they wanted it to have a clear focus, and chose to support children in foster care and young people transitioning from care. This entry focused on a microcourse created to inform Dick Lovett’s large workforce about the Lovett Foundation’s history, work and impact.
Judges’ comments:
This project, focused on their work with the Lovett Foundation supporting people in or leaving foster care, was well put together. Their internal awareness campaign used elearning effectively to engage staff in their charitable work. High completion and enjoyment rates, along with a strong number of volunteer sign-ups show that it really made an impact. It’s a great example of giving back to the community through meaningful charitable activity.
National Star
National Star is a UK-based charity and specialist college for young people aged 16-25 with physical disabilities, learning difficulties, or acquired brain injuries. They offer residential and day‑time courses, combining top‑quality education, personalised therapies, and life‑skills training to help students flourish as independent adults. Their entry focused on training staff to administer medication to students, to ensure young people could have their medical needs met by trusted adults, no matter what activities they were doing.
Judges’ comments:
This is a standout example of how elearning can deliver critical staff training with real-world impact. Designed to ensure medication is administered safely and correctly, their project directly supports enhanced safety, wellbeing, and quality of life for the people in their care. It demonstrates the powerful role elearning can play in helping charities deliver high-quality, person-centred support. With over 95% completion, increased staff confidence, and improved user care, this was undeniably successful.
Starlight Children’s Foundation
Starlight is a leading UK charity that champions the power of play in healthcare to brighten the lives of seriously ill children and support their families. Their mission is to ease fear, pain and isolation by creating moments of laughter and escape –helping young patients cope and build resilience through creativity, comfort and joy. Their entry focused on an elearning course they developed to educate healthcare students at the University of Chester about the power of play in clinical practice.
Judges’ comments:
Starlight Children’s Foundation’s powerful project educates future healthcare professionals and drives systemic change in how play is used in healthcare. Through innovative elearning and proven influence on national standards, it’s helping shape the future of play in clinical settings. With a strong real-world impact, excellent learner feedback, and plans for expansion, this was an impressive entry.
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