Netmatters Achieves King’s Award for Enterprise: Promoting Opportunity 2025!
Netmatters is honoured to have been presented with a King’s Award for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity 2025!
As one of only 197 organisations nationally to be recognised with a prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise, Netmatters has been recognised for its excellence in promoting opportunity through the Scion Scheme.
About King’s Awards for Enterprise
The King’s Awards for Enterprise are the most prestigious business awards in the UK. The awards were first established in 1965 and since then over 8000 companies have achieved a King’s Award. 2025 marks the third year of The King’s Awards for Enterprise, reflecting His Majesty The King’s desire to continue HM Queen Elizabeth II’s legacy by recognising outstanding UK businesses.
The awards celebrate the success of exciting and innovative businesses which are leading the way with pioneering products or services, delivering impressive social mobility programmes, or showing their commitment to excellent sustainable development practices.
We are absolutely thrilled to have achieved the Award for Promoting Opportunity!
About the Scion Scheme
Netmatters’ Scion Scheme was formally initiated in 2017 to address a shortfall in the business for technical roles. Our objective was to train new developers internally as a cost-effective solution, by targeting individuals with a passion for technology who may not have ordinarily been able to enter the industry easily.
Prior to this, there was a significant skills gap in the East of England for such positions, with the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce noting “According to projections, by 2030, 20% of less of the population will be grossly underqualified for their positions”.
With this in mind, we began partnering with local job centres to identify individuals in order to provide an accessible pathway into the industry. The scheme has long been dedicated to enhancing social mobility by supporting individuals who are unemployed, long-term unemployed, or from low-income backgrounds. It is even fully remote, providing a career pathway for community members who might not otherwise have the opportunity.
Once part of the scheme, Scions enjoy hands-on software development training alongside theoretical and soft skills development under the guidance of our course manager, the award-winning Senior Developer, Kayleigh Hall. This includes studying various software languages as well as essential soft skills needed to secure and sustain employment, such as time management, communication, interview practice, and CV creation. Upon completing the course, our team leverages industry connections to help graduates secure suitable roles and achieve our goal of assisting individuals in obtaining employment.
We’re over the moon to receive the King’s Award for our hard work on the Scion Scheme, but who better to hear from than one of our graduates?
“The Netmatters Scion Coalition Scheme took me from Zero to Hero. Joining the scheme with practically no web development experience, I was guided through a curated course and given detailed feedback on my work. The constant support from the team allowed me to grow to my full potential and challenged my thinking to see me improve with each day that passed. This wasn’t just a skills bootcamp, this was a working environment simulation to prepare me for employment. With encouraged collaboration, and frequent presentations about the industry, my peers and I felt confident that we were in the hands of experts. I was sad for the experience to be over, but I also felt a renewed confidence after graduating, that I would be able to thrive. The scheme not only taught the technical skills, but also the soft skills to secure a career, all while making some lifelong friends along the way. I am now in full time employment and could not have done it without the Netmatters SCS!” – Liam, SCS Graduate
Our Vision for the Scion Scheme
Along with the honour of the King’s Award, our vision is to bridge the skills gap in the East of England and beyond by forming partnerships across the UK. With the support of local Jobcentres, the DWP and Local Councils, we aim to make a significant impact, reviewing each and every decision we make against our T.R.U.E values.
As part of the Award, our Managing Director and Founder of the scheme, James Gulliver, will be celebrating by meeting the King.
“We are incredibly proud to receive the King’s Award for Enterprise for Promoting Opportunity. This recognition is a testament to the dedication of our team and the transformative power of the Scion Scheme. At Netmatters, we believe talent can come from anywhere, and this award reflects our ongoing commitment to creating meaningful career pathways for individuals who might otherwise be overlooked. It’s an honour to champion social mobility, and we’re excited to build on this momentum in the years ahead.” – James Gulliver, Managing Director