Apprentice Awards a great success

The 2022 TAFE Queensland - SkillsTech Apprentice Awards were held at Howard Smith Wharves on Thursday November 10. Almost 360 guests were in attendance, more than 200 of which were finalists and their assosciated employers and guests.

The night, made possible by Main Event Sponsor Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) and many other category and event sponsors, was a celebration of apprentices and employers achieving greatness in their trade training.

With 14 awards on offer for unique trade categories' Apprentice of the Year, two employer awards, and two special awards for the General Manager's and Outstanding Apprentice of the Year, it was a full night of awards.

Sponsors of award categories on the night included Apprentice Employment Network, TradeTools, Bunnings Warehouse and Kaboodle Kitchens, CBUS, Dulux, Brick and Block Careers, Reece, MEGT, MIGAS, Viva Energy Australia, Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA), Weld Australia, Caravan Trade and Industries Association of Queensland, Yokogawa, MAS National, and BUSY At Work.

Construction Skills Queensland (CSQ) were the Main Event Sponsor and sponsor of the marquee award, the Outstanding Apprentice of the Year, while FXD, Kennards Hire, IICA, and Fluke Electrical were on board as event sponsors.

The biggest award of the event was the Outstanding Apprentice of the Year, won by Peter Fontaine from Ai Group and GM Poles, who has shown great dedication and skill across his engineering apprenticeship. To find out more about Peter's success, watch the video here.

TAFE Queensland - SkillsTech General Manger John Tucker hosted the event on the night, and labelled the event as an important occaision to celebrate greatness in training.

“The annual Apprentice Awards are a great opportunity to celebrate the dedication and success of the next generation of local tradespeople and I’d like to congratulate all of the finalists on their achievements,” Mr Tucker said. 

“TAFE Queensland is proud to help so many Queenslanders successfully start their trade careers and provide our state’s construction industry with a much needed pipeline of skilled workers for the future."