One of the benefits of the NSW Training Awards program is that each year, the state winners are provided with a bespoke week of Professional Development to prepare them to become Ambassadors for the Vocational Education and Training sector whilst building their confidence and supporting their flourishing career journeys.

The week was a unique and valuable opportunity for these individuals to also, prepare for the 2022 Australian Training Awards.

2022 winners: Lachlan Butler, Jade Barrington, Mellanie Sutton, Casey Fox, Tahli Gleeson, Clint Giddings and Stella Cox came together in Sydney to cover all things communications, content creation, public speaking and career goals, finishing the week feeling equipped and empowered to be their best selves!

The ambassadors learned skills required to communicate effectively through public speaking, preparing for interviews, executing social media, building their online brand and more. They were provided feedback on these skills to support their growth as individuals and within their careers.

On day one, the winners eased in with Mindfulness Training; this generated team bonding and helped prepare them for the busy week ahead using meditation and learning to find the calm in the chaos! They also focussed on public speaking skills, with a masterclass from Michelle Bowden CSP. An expert in her field, Michelle has run her Persuasive Presentation Skills Masterclass over 930 times for more than 12,000 people over the past 23 years.

Day two with Amie Morris from the FRANK Team ran through communication skills, combating imposter syndrome, and interview preparation! Day three was all about media training and broadcast. The ambassadors headed to Bondi Radio to learn practical radio skills and podcasting and jumped into a live, on-air interview! Hearing the Ambassadors sharing their personal journeys with a broad audience made the day incredibly special. A few Ambassadors were so inspired by this experience they wanted to start their own podcasts and radio shows to share the possibilities that VET pathways can provide!

The NSW Training Awards Ambassadors also met Ms Robyn Preston MP Parliamentary Secretary for Science, Innovation and Technology. And had the opportunity to share their VET story with her.

Day four was a Social Media Workshop with Kirryn Zerna, keynote speaker, masterclass presenter and author, alongside Vincent Yeow Lim (DIMSIMLIM), restaurant owner and one of Australia’s most popular online content creators on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. This was a day for them to put the theory into practice via posts across all social media platforms as they began building their online brands.

The final day was about the “glam”, with a professional photoshoot to celebrate the winners and develop the 2023 look and feel.

“The NSW Training Awards is an opportunity for the best of the Vocational Education and Training sector in NSW to be recognized for their achievements, and the 2022 winners have demonstrated that they are among the most talented and dedicated individuals in this field”, says Eduardo Carvallo, NSW Training Awards program manager.

Applications for the 2023 Training Awards are now open; the winners of the 2023 program will have the opportunity to experience this jam-packed development week in November 2023.

Find out more about the NSW Training Awards.