Victoria scoops prestigious national training awards

Victorian Matthew Tyquin has taken out the top prize at the annual Australian Training Awards, winning the Australian Apprentice of the Year Award. Matthew, a butcher, studied a Certificate III in Meat Processing Retail Butcher at William Angliss Institute. He has rapidly progressed in his career, and is a strong advocate for animal sustainability and promoting ethically sourced meat to customers.

Dr Adam Bignold won the VET Teacher/Trainer of the Year Award for his work as a cyber security teacher at Federation University. Adam has been a tertiary teacher for the past 11 years and enjoys preparing students for the realities of the modern workplace using real-life cyber security examples.

The late Professor Peter Noonan was posthumously awarded the national Outstanding Achievement in the VET and Skills Sector Award for his significant work in the VET sector over a 40-year career. Peter played a major role in shaping policy in higher education and VET in Australia as a researcher, senior public servant, consultant and adviser to national and state governments.

Emma Holgate was runner-up in the Trainee of the Year Award category for undertaking a technical production traineeship, and is following her passion to work in the live music, musical and theatre industry.

In the business categories, the Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (VACCA) won the Large Employer of the Year Award. As the peak voice for the wellbeing of Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families, VACCA invests heavily in the education of its staff, to engage in formal VET qualifications that support their role in protecting and promoting the rights of Aboriginal children, families and communities.

Airservices Australia was awarded the Innovation in VET Award for its immersive learning technologies, allowing staff to train to respond to aviation-related emergencies wearing virtual reality headsets.

Victoria also achieved 3 bronze awards in the business categories – SWTAFE’s Mobile Skills Lab – Aged Care Collaboration for the Industry Collaboration Award, the Australian Institute of Engineering for the Small Training Provider of the Year Award, and Cummins Asia Pacific for the Australian Apprenticeships Employer Award.

Read more about the 2024 Australian Training Awards winners and finalists(opens in a new window).