More than 750 people gathered in Sydney at the International Convention Centre to celebrate the 2018 Australian Training Awards.

The evening brought together the nation’s best in vocational education and training (VET) sector. The 78 finalists comprising of apprentices, trainees, VET students, teachers, practitioners, employers and training providers were rewarded and recognised for demonstrating excellence in VET.

Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, Minister for Small and Family Business, Skills and Vocational Education, presented the first award of the evening, the Lifetime Achievement Award to recipient Marie Persson. The evening concluded with the Australian Apprentice of the Year award won by Michael Edwards from New South Wales. 

The master of ceremonies was Tim Shaw, radio presenter and Australian VET Alumni member, who understands the value of VET having completing an automotive electrical apprenticeship himself.

The Australian Training Awards demonstrate how a vocational pathway leads to real skills for real careers and how important VET is for industry and students to prepare for the jobs of today, and the increasingly complex and globalised future of work.

All finalists, winners and runners up are invited to become Australian VET Alumni – a national community of VET graduates, registered training organisations, VET practitioners and businesses dedicated to sharing their VET journey with Australians to encourage greater participation and best practice in VET.

Profiles of all finalists are available on the 2018 Winners and Finalists page. Photos can be downloaded from here. 

The 2019 Australian Training Awards will be held on the 21 November at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Queensland.