T’was a week that was – comment by CEO Craig Robertson

The extraordinary talent of TAFE teachers, students and institutes was on display at the virtual Australian Training Awards on Friday night, capped by TAFE Queensland CEO Mary Campbell taking out the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award.

Mary has a record of more than 30 years in the VET sector, starting at the former Moreton Institute of TAFE, and culminating in her leadership of TAFE Queensland where she is responsible for delivering training to more than 110,000 students annually. In 2018, as training partner for the Commonwealth Games, Mary led TAFE Queensland’s delivery of 360,000 hours of training to 15,000 volunteers for 200 Games roles.

In a double for TAFE Queensland, Debbie Blow, the Director of Faculty for Community Services, Health and Nursing and the Executive Leader Health and Nursing, was presented with the National Achievement Award. Deb has been an outstanding leader in health nursing education and training for more than 20 years. She led a 12-year industry partnership with Ramsay Health Care and Greenslopes Private Hospital to address the need for more registered enrolled nurses, and assisted Griffith University to embed hands-on skills into its Biomedical Science degree.

The VET Teacher/Trainer of the Year Award went to TAFE Gippsland’s Kevin Nunn,whose knowledge and passion for timber training has helped turn the institute into a leading provider for forestry management and timber training.

The Runner-up was Steven Skinner, a TAFE SA lecturer whose 40-year career in the heavy engineering and defence industry has seen him specialise in training methodologies that link industry best practice with tailored, hands-on learning.

The Large Training Provider of the Year was awarded to Victoria’s South West Institute of TAFE, which has provided vital training in skills shortage sectors including nursing, aged care, community services and health, and has forged important links with regional primary and secondary schools.

The Apprentice of the Year was awarded to fifth-generation Tasmanian farmer, Caitlin Radford, who started her Certificate III in Agriculture at TasTAFE as a part-time apprentice and has now progressed into a Diploma of Agribusiness Management.

The Runner-up was Queensland’s Braden Hellmuth who studied a Certificate III in Engineering – Mechanical Trade, and is currently doing a Certificate II in Automotive Air Conditioning Technology to further expand his skills.

The Trainee of the Year is Breanna Cassidy, who studies a Certificate III in Business and is employed by Zip Print.

The Runner-up was Cheyne Pearce from Western Australia, who studied a Certificate IV in Horticulture at North Metropolitan TAFE.

The Vocational Student of the Year is Heetham Hekmat, who arrived in Australia in 2012 as a refugee and went on to study a Diploma of Community Services at TasTAFE and is now a community service worker at Headspace and The Link Youth Health Service in Hobart.

The Runner-up is Trent Caldwell from Western Australia who studied a Diploma of Marketing and Communication at North Metropolitan TAFE. A near-fatal accident left him in a coma and with permanent impairment. He now manages social media for a real estate agency, as well as designing artwork, managing the website, and running advertising campaigns.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year Award went to Lisa Cherie Birnie, a proud Indigenous woman from the Kamilaroi Nation. Lisa completed a Certificate III in Government in Canberra under the Indigenous Apprenticeship Program with the Department of Defence and CIT Solutions.

The Runner-up was Dale Dhamarrandji, a proud Yolngu man, who completed a Certiicate III in Mobile Plant Technology at Charles Darwin University, making him the first Yolngu apprentice to have completed a heavy diesel apprenticeship at Rio Tinto Operations on the Gove Peninsula.

The Industry Collaboration Award went to Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education and the Australian Defence Force. The two organisations have collaborated to make a career as a soldier more attractive to Indigenous Australians. Participants gain foundational education skills while immersing themselves in 13 weeks of military training.

The Australian School-based Apprentice of the Year Award went to Sebastian Connor, a commercial cookery student from Dickson College in the ACT who studied at Canberra Institute of Technology.

The Runner up was Cassandra O’Carroll, a Conservation and Land Management student, employed by group training organisation, HVTC and hosted by Shoalhaven City Council.

The Excellence in Language, Literacy and Numeracy Practice Award winner was Rachel Leigh Taylor from the Northern Territory. Rachel who started her career as an ‘English as a Second Language’ teacher has developed and delivered language, literacy and numeracy and key foundation skills to support migrant workers and refugees.

The Large Employer of the Year is SA Power Networks which currently has 105 apprentices in training, and over the past 20 years, has trained 575 electrical apprentices and achieved a 93 per cent retention rate.

The Medium Employer of the Year is Outside Ideas from South Australia, a civil construction, commercial landscaping and structural concreting business that established the Construction Training Academy to specialise in landscaping and civil construction training.

The Small Employer of the Year Award went to Kent Saddlery in Queensland which currently has 10 apprentices, and in 2019, was successful in having the Queensland government reinstate leather production as an apprenticeship.

Victoria’s Builders Academy Australia won the Small Training Provider of the Year Award for its work in producing more than 8,000 builders with nationally accredited qualifications, and its emphasis on language, literacy and numeracy, and women in the trades.

The Australian Apprenticeships Employer Award was made to Fairbrother, a small, family-owned building and construction business in Tasmania’s North that is dedicated to training. Since 1974, Fairbrother has trained almost 400 apprentices.

St Paul’s College in Kempsey was awarded the School Pathways to VET Award for its work in vocational programs focussing on primary industries, hospitality and construction.

Congratulations to all these remarkable winners and finalists who have achieved outstanding results in a most challenfing year!

See details of all the Australian Training Awards winners and finalists.