Celebrating Bailey Nixon: A Top 30 Under 30 Leader

Niftylift’s Senior Production Engineer, Bailey Nixon, has been recognised as one of South Yorkshire’s Top 30 Under 30 for 2025, celebrating his development and leadership journey.

Recognising Exceptional Young Talent at Niftylift

Niftylift is proud to celebrate Senior Production Engineer Bailey Nixon, who has been named one of South Yorkshire’s Top 30 Under 30 for 2025. The programme celebrates the region’s brightest emerging leaders and provides a year of world-class development designed to empower young professionals early in their leadership journeys.

The Top 30 Under 30 programme identifies exceptional talent through a nomination and judging process, followed by a 12-month leadership development experience delivered through its LEAP Programme. This initiative aims to recognise, retain, and develop South Yorkshire’s future leaders.

Bailey’s Journey to Becoming a Top 30 Under 30 Winner

Bailey’s nomination came unexpectedly at the beginning of the year, submitted anonymously by someone who recognised his dedication and leadership within Niftylift. After a judging panel reviewed all nominations, Bailey was selected as one of 2025’s winners.

Following his selection, he joined the cohort at a welcome event where he met fellow award recipients representing outstanding organisations across the region.

Throughout the year, Bailey completed ten intensive leadership sessions, each designed to build personal awareness, communication capability, confidence, and leadership resilience. These sessions form the foundation of the LEAP Programme, covering subjects such as:

• Coaching and fearless communication
• Presentation and influence skills
• Leading with authenticity
• Performance management
• Confidence and resilience-building workstreams

These elements support the programme’s mission to develop and retain South Yorkshire’s top young talent.

Reflecting on a Transformational Year

Speaking about the experience, Bailey said:

“It feels incredible to be recognised for my contributions to Niftylift as well as my journey in my career so far. Sometimes I feel that because I have been at Niftylift for 12 years, it can be difficult to benchmark myself against external organisations and understand whether I am excelling or not. But the last few months have really shown me how I compare and that I am actually doing well, as well as being deserving of recognition in my career.”

The programme has helped Bailey build new confidence in his leadership style and reaffirm his ambitions for the future. His goal is to continue progressing within engineering and management, and he looks forward to taking on new challenges with Niftylift’s continued support.

A Proud Moment for Niftylift

Bailey’s recognition is not only a personal milestone but also a moment of pride for all of us at Niftylift. His dedication, drive, and commitment to continual improvement embody the values that define our teams across every site.

Supporting programmes like Top 30 Under 30 aligns with our commitment to developing young professionals and fostering future leaders in our industry. As the nomination pack highlights, the initiative has already supported 330 rising stars, with many progressing into management and senior leadership positions across the region.

Pictured [LTR]: Amy Braithwaite, Karl Digby, Kerry Lyall and Bailey Nixon

What Comes Next for Bailey?

With his award year now complete, Bailey is looking ahead with renewed motivation:

“In the future I would like to keep progressing into management and engineering. I am passionate about both and want to develop my skills. I am looking forward to where my career takes me next, especially with the backing of Niftylift.”

We are incredibly proud of everything Bailey has achieved so far and excited to see how he continues to grow and contribute to Niftylift’s success.

Watch Bailey’s Journey

A short film was created as part of Bailey’s Top 30 Under 30 profile, including footage captured at our Hoyland site. This video showcases his leadership journey and the work he does here at Niftylift.