Each year, the Australian Marine Industry Awards recognises the innovation, creativity, and craftsmanship of some of Australia’s most successful marine businesses.
The awards cover categories for the superyacht, commercial marine and marine export sectors of the industry, but the newest award – the Marine Industry Apprentice Award – is proving equally as popular for entries as businesses recruit, train and support their new team members embarking upon a career in the Australian marine industry.
The ‘Apprentice of the Year’ award provides opportunity for apprentices in the marine industry to be recognised and acknowledged by their employers, industry and peers for their hard work and dedication over the year. Nominees for the award will join the industry at the Australian Marine Industry Awards Gala Dinner to be held at Southport Yacht Club on May 18, the finale to the annual ASMEX Conference.
The 2022 Apprentice of the Year winner will receive return flights and accommodation to Amsterdam to attend METSTRADE 2022, the world’s largest marine equipment, materials, and systems trade exhibition. Due to restricted travel over the past two years, the 2022 Award winner will be accompanied by the 2020 and 2021 award winners, Jasmine Willoughby from Aus Ships and Robert Smith from Superior Jetties, respectively.
This highly sought-after accolade offers the trip of a lifetime for any young apprentice and will allow them to experience the marine industry internationally and boost their career from a global perspective.
TAFE Queensland will once again present the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ Award accompanied on the podium by last year’s winner, Robert Smith from Superior Jetties.
Simon Hislop, Director, Business Development at TAFE Queensland, says, “the marine sector is a cornerstone of our community, and we are pleased to be supporting the Apprentice of the Year Award for the third year in a row. The industry is in significant growth and marine employers are proactively investing in the employment of apprentices. Their training and the work we do with our partners, ensures the ongoing development of a skilled workforce to meet the growth and future demand.”
David Good, CEO of AIMEX, said, “This is a huge opportunity for young future industry leaders to attend METSTRADE alongside Australia’s most successful marine exporters as part of the Australian Pavilion. This experience will encourage them to continue to strive for excellence within the international marine industry and will be an experience they remember for their entire career.”
With the booming marine industry, apprentices are in demand to meet the massive influx of marine-related work. This demand was the impetus that led to the creation of ‘Marine Jobs’, a collaboration between Superyacht Australia, the Marina Industries Association (MIA) and Boating Industry Association (BIA).
Marine Jobs (www.marinejobs.org.au) is an online ‘career centre’ designed to enable employers to advertise vacancies in the marine sector and for job seekers to find the right job in the industry. The industry jobs platform provides a range of career resources, including information on apprenticeships and industry training, writing a resume and preparing for an interview.
The 2022 Australian Marine Industry Award application form includes further information about eligibility and how to apply for those apprentices keen to apply, see: https://www.asmex-conference.com.au/awards/
Submissions for this and all categories close on Friday, April 1, 2022. The full lineup of awards will be presented at the Australian Marine Industry Awards Gala Dinner at Southport Yacht Club on Wednesday, May 18.
By Nick Thorowgood
