30 Under 30
Are you a skilled tradie under 30? Gef wants to hear about it!
Hey tradies. Yeah, you. Put down that builder’s brew and listen. Because you, my hardhat-wearing, tool fiddling friend are not getting anywhere NEAR the amount of recognition and attention you deserve – even with the high viz – and Gef wants to change that.
Are you a construction worker, electrician, plumber, or work in any other form of trade and under the age of 30? Maybe you own your own eco-friendly construction company and have been helping locals save money on their heating bills while reducing their carbon footprint. Or maybe you’re someone who’s just used a local plumber who did a wonderful job on your pipes and didn’t judge you for what was causing the blockage. (The guinea pig). Either way, Gef’s 30 Under 30 wants to hear about it.
The annual campaign, run by Media Isle of Man, (Media Isle of Man owns Gef, Isle of Man Today and the newspapers – saying that not to brag, just to avoid confusion) celebrates innovative work being done by the island’s young people, and wants to shine the spotlight on local tradespeople. I mean, without you electricians our spotlight wouldn’t even work in the first place. In previous years, we’ve seen so many inspirational future leaders from a wide variety of worlds: sustainability, corporate, charity, sport, music, bars, eateries, you name it. But we haven’t heard enough from local tradespeople. We want to change that.
If you haven’t heard of Gef’s 30 Under 30, here’s how it works.
You can either nominate yourself for all the brilliant work you’ve been doing – no, it’s not self-indulgent, you’ve earned it – or someone else can nominate you. The nomination will then be looked at by a team of judges and if you win, your name and business will get a platform on Gef throughout the year. You’ll have your own fancy photo shoot, which includes a wind machine (someone from Gef aggressively waving an 18 by 24cm framed picture of a kipper up and down), PLUS a filmed interview where you can tell us all about your trade, how you got into the business, and impart words of wisdom on people wanting to follow in your footsteps.
To get involved, you have to be under the age of 30 on 15th May this year and live on the island. You can either nominate yourself or be nominated by someone else in one or more of ten categories:
· Sustainability
· Innovation
· Collaboration
· Entrepreneurship
· Community Impact
· Trailblazers
· Leadership
· Achievement
· Creativity
· Disruptors
Nominations close on 17th March, to nominate someone, head on over to 30under30.im. Remember, you can be nominated in multiple categories so, for example, if you’ve started your own carbon conscious business installing heat pumps for locals, you could be nominated in Sustainability, Entrepreneurship, and Community Impact. You sickeningly impressive devil.
If you end up being a winner in your category, you’ll be invited to Gef’s 30 Under 30 Winners’ Party on 15th May where you’ll be given an award that you can use as a marker of your success or a bathroom doorstop.
The Winners’ Party will be the first of many fun events Gef will be putting on throughout the year where you’ll get to network with companies and organisations partnering with the event that can lead to new opportunities. Who knows, maybe a big corporate company has just suffered a murder spree after one employee went mad from listening to the constant dripping of a faulty faucet and is now legally required to get the murder tap fixed. Who better to do it than you? A 2025 Gef 30 Under 30 winner.
Gef’s 30 Under 30 wants to broaden its scope and be as inclusive as possible when it comes to celebrating the diverse work local young people are doing to benefit our community and economy. But we can’t do that without your help. So, tradespeople, lay down your tools and pick up a laptop. This is your call to arms to give yourself or someone you know a pat on the back and get nominating for Gef’s 2025 30 Under 30 and help cement (yes, it was intended) the island as a desirable place for young people to live, work, and thrive.
