Victorian training awards 2021 finalists announced

Locals Andrew Jan and Steven Hull have been named a finalists for the Victorian Training Awards.

Mr Jan is studying plumbing and has been named a finalist for Apprentice of the Year and Mr Hull is studying agriculture and has been named a finalist for School-Based Apprentice of the Year.

The 67th Victorian Training Awards recognises the achievements of apprentices, students, teachers, trainers and employers.

A pool of 44 finalists have been named across six award categories for individuals, four for employers and four for training organisations as well as the Industry Collaboration Award.

Other finalists include Federation University TAFE nursing student Samantha Brown who worked as a hotel manager before re-training as a nurse and Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri man Stephen Cranage who took up cyber security at GOTAFE as a mature aged student.

The finalists represent all parts of metropolitan and regional Victoria.

Institutions and businesses in the running include South West TAFE, Wellsprings for Women, Master Builders Association of Victoria, Terra Firma Laboratories and Mansfield Armchair Cinema.

Award recipients will receive $5000 prize money and a selection of award recipients will have the opportunity to represent Victoria at the Australian Training Awards.

This year’s awards received the highest number of nominations in more than a decade, with individual award categories proving most popular among nominees.

The event is supported by principal partner Apprenticeship Employment Network (AEN) and the Global Apprenticeship Network (GAN Australia).

Winners of the Victorian Training Awards will be announced at a gala event on Saturday, 16 October 2021. Find out more at education.vic.gov.au/vta.

Quote attributable to Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas
"It’s great to see Andrew Jan and Steven Hull will represent Macedon at this year’s Victorian Training Awards for excellence in plumbing and agriculture. I congratulate them as finalists and know they will do Macedon proud."

"We had a record number of nominations for this year’s event – which goes to show successful the Victorian TAFE and training sector is."

Quotes attributable to Minister for Training and Skills Gayle Tierney
"The Victorian Training Awards are a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the achievements of our apprentices, students, teachers, trainers and employers."

“This year’s event also showcases the achievements, resilience and innovation of the sector amid the ongoing challenges of the pandemic.