2026 Awards For Excellence

Celebrate Excellence! — Now is your chance to shine a light on the rising stars within your organisation.

Every year, the Apprentice Employment Network WA (AEN WA) proudly presents our prestigious Awards — a powerful celebration of the extraordinary achievements of apprentices and trainees across Western Australia. These Awards also honour the unwavering commitment of our host employers, whose support helps shape the future of our workforce and drives the success of our Network.

We invite you to nominate the apprentices and trainees who go above and beyond — the ones who show grit, passion, and determination every single day. By nominating you elevate the profile of your Group Training Organisation (GTO), strengthen relationships with host employers and showcase the powerful impact of vocational training in our community.

Why Nominate?

Recognition – Celebrate dedication and success.
Prestige – Boost your organisation’s standing.
Community Impact – Highlight the value of vocational training.

This is more than an Awards program!

Nominate today and help inspire, acknowledge, and champion the next generation of skilled trades and non-trade workers!

Key Dates:

Nominations Open late June 2026
Closing DATE: TBA 2026 (Nominations and required supporting documentation/information must be lodged online by this date)
Finalists announced the week commencing TBA 2026

AEN WA reserves the right to extend the nomination closing date if necessary.

Details of Presentation Ceremony:

Date: Friday, 23 October 2026

Where: Burswood On Swan Venue – 1 Camfield Drive, Burswood

Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Event: Cocktail – with canapés, beverages and cabaret music

Dress code: Cocktail / Business attire

Main Event Sponsor

Gold Award Sponsors

Silver Sponsor

Partners

Nominations and required supporting documentation/information must be lodged online by 11.59 pm Monday, 18 AUGUST 2025.

AEN WA reserves the right to extend the nomination closing date if necessary.

Selection Process

A panel of judges will be appointed by AEN WA to assess the nominations based on the information submitted against the criteria. Interviews may be held if necessary, however, the judges, in making their decisions will place a strong reliance on the quality of the written application. By entering the awards, candidates agree to abide by the decision of the judging panel and submit no appeals against the panel’s decisions.

Privacy Notice

The information provided by the nominee/candidate in this entry form, will be used by the AEN WA for the purpose of administration, judging and general communication in regard to the AEN WA Training Awards. Provision of this information is essential to determine your eligibility for considerations of an Award. Information will be stored securely.

If all or any of the required information is not provided, then AEN WA may deem the nomination incomplete and may consider the nominee/candidate ineligible for entry in the AEN WA Training Awards.

Talent Release

By entering the awards, finalists and winners agree to their profiles, training details, images and videos taken of them, to be used for promotional purposes in print and online media by AEN WA, our event and award sponsors and partners.

Eligibility Criteria

Up to 2 nominations per category permitted per GTO except for Host Employer category – where only one nomination is permitted.

Nominees / Candidates for:

Apprentice; Trainee; Woman in Building and Construction Industry; School Based; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; of the year award categories

May only be nominated by their Group Training Organisation, who must be a non associate financial member of AEN WA at the time the nomination is received.
Must be a permanent resident of Australia and be undertaking training in Western Australia.
Have a training contract registered with the WA Apprenticeship Office as an apprentice or trainee; and
On the application closing date, applicants must be employed under a training contract that leads to a nationally recognised outcome or qualification relevant to their award category or have completed their training contract on or after 30 June 2025.

Host Employers:

May only be nominated by their Group Training Organisation, who must be a non associate financial member of AEN WA at the time the nomination is received.

How to Nominate - and templates to start the nomination process

Entering the AEN WA Awards of Excellence is a simple 4 step process.

Identify your stand-out apprentices and trainees. Check that they meet all the general eligibility criteria for the selected award category.
Download the correct award template (below) – ensure the nominee/s address ALL the criteria. (You can type directly into these Word templates.) N.B. Some nominee/s require assistance with this part. Ensure it includes a biography. Click here for a sample 100 word biography.

3. Click on the ‘Nomination Open’ button (below) – Complete the nomination form. A ‘Save and Continue’ link is provided for users who need to pause their nomination and come back later to finish it.

4. Submit the nomination, ensuring that you attach the following.

Nomination Checklist:

The completed award category criteria, which includes a biography and addresses all the selection criteria.
Image of the nominee/candidate or host logo for host employers. The image of nominees/candidates must be of high quality and will be used on the awards PowerPoint if selected as a finalist. We would like a portrait shot (head and shoulders) of the candidate. For a sample image of what is required click here

At least one written reference from the candidate’s GTO, host employer or school.
Other supporting documents, including (but not mandatory) e.g. awards, statement of attainment, and qualifications.

All award nominations must be submitted online via this website. No email or paper-based nominations will be accepted.

There is a 2 MB size limit applicable for each upload so please be aware of this when nominating. (2 MB for jpg, jpeg, png files)

Let’s come together to celebrate excellence and make this year’s Training Awards the best yet!

Sponsor

APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR

The nominee / candidate must meet all the general eligibility criteria (as listed above) and in addition:

Not still be enrolled at school.

Sponsor

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER APPRENTICE / TRAINEE OF THE YEAR

Sponsor – Under Consideration

The nominee / candidate must meet all the general eligibility criteria (as listed above) and in addition:

Be of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent; and
Not still be enrolled at school.

At the discretion of the Group Training Organisation, nominees /candidates for this award may also be nominated for the apprentice or trainee of the year awards. (NB there are some minor differences with the apprentice and trainee criteria for this award category)

Sponsor

Only one nomination per GTO permitted for Host Employer category.

HOST EMPLOYER

Must have had one apprentice or trainee with host within 2024.

Sponsor

TRAINEE OF THE YEAR

Sponsor – Apprenticeship Support Australia

The nominee/candidate must meet all the general eligibility criteria (as listed above) and in addition:

Not still be enrolled at school.

Sponsor

WOMAN IN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY APPRENTICE / TRAINEE OF THE YEAR

The nominee / candidate must meet all the general eligibility criteria (as listed above) and the following NEW criteria:

Must be a female Apprentice or Trainee, working in construction within WA, whose employers are eligible for the CTF’s Employer Grants program.

Sponsor

SCHOOL-BASED APPRENTICE / TRAINEE OF THE YEAR

The nominee/candidate must meet all the general eligibility criteria (as listed above) and in addition:

Must be attending a registered school in WA; and
Be completing a school-based traineeship or apprenticeship in 2025 that is registered with the WA Apprenticeship Office.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL GTOs – Do not leave it to the apprentice or trainee to complete the nomination online. I strongly urge field staff to assist in the nomination process to ensure all the criteria is addressed and that judges best understand why this individual has been nominated.

Tickets sales through Eventbrite – OPEN 18 AUGUST 2025

CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS FROM 18 AUGUST

For all enquiries and questions about the awards, please contact:

Irene Walker
Executive Officer
Apprentice Employment Network WA

P: 0412 183 776
E: eo@aenwa.com.au