Seddon Management Services Limited (SMS) is proud to announce that one of its customers, the Specialist Access & Engineering Maintenance Association (SAEMA), secured a top award in the Best Learning/Professional Development Programme category at the 2025 Association Excellence Awards 2025, held at the prestigious QEII Conference Centre in London, on 7th November. This recognition places SAEMA in the upper echelons of the UK’s trade-association sector – a remarkable outcome given the competitive field.
SAEMA’s three innovative online training courses – Permanent Part 1, Temporary Part 1 and Duty Holders – are transforming standards in the suspended access industry. Delivered through the dedicated SAEMA Training platform, each course combines expertly curated video content, engaging animations and a rigorous online assessment process with built-in invigilation to ensure complete integrity. More than 5,000 industry professionals have already completed the training, demonstrating its reach and impact. By raising awareness, competence and accountability across every role, SAEMA’s training is helping to ensure that everyone who works with suspended access systems has the best possible chance of arriving home safely every day.
“Our partnership with SAEMA has once again demonstrated that size is no barrier to excellence,” said Tony Seddon, founder and Managing Director of SMS. “In an arena crowded with major associations, achieving this award confirms that focused strategy, innovative learning design and unwavering delivery can yield results on a national stage. We are honoured to have guided SAEMA to this success.
“SAEMA Training exemplified best-in-class thinking in member-learning and professional development – at a scale and standard normally associated with much larger organisations. To achieve such recognition is proof that SMS’s approach to association management not only meets but surpasses industry benchmarks.”
SMS was shortlisted in four categories in total at the national awards, placing the organisation in the top 4% of trade associations in the UK. Tony Seddon was named as one of the top six trade association leaders in the UK and the SMS team was recognised as one of the best association management companies nationwide. FASET (Fall Arrest Safety Equipment Training), another SMS managed trade association, was also shortlisted for its AGM in the best longstanding event category.
The judges said that SMS and its team had been recognised for its rare blend of strategic, operational and human attributes that enable the team to deliver exceptional value to the associations they serve.
Tony Seddon continued: “This award signals a broader shift in the trade-body landscape showing that specialist associations ‘punch above their weight’ in terms of governance, membership value learning innovation and operational performance are now outperforming traditional size-based expectations.
“We extend heartfelt congratulations to the SMS team,” added Kyle Davidson, Chair of SAEMA. “The team’s ambition, professionalism and commitment to raising the bar have set a new benchmark for SAEMA. We look forward to building on this success and continuing to deliver transformational results for our members with SMS in support.”
