Women shaping WA's future recognised at WA Training Awards
Women shaping WA's future recognised at WA Training Awards
Women have dominated the 2026 WA Training Awards, taking out seven of the eight individual honours at this year's event.
The awards celebrate outstanding achievement across vocational education and training, recognising apprentices, trainees, students, trainers, employers and training providers. This year's standouts were women forging careers in traditionally male-dominated industries.
WA Apprentice of the Year Georgia Shinnick became the first female apprentice at Western Power's Picton and Collie depot while completing a Certificate III in ESI – Distribution Overhead through Power Training Services WA. The Yalyalup local is now supporting critical electricity infrastructure as a line worker.
The College of Electrical Training (CET) is seeing a similar shift in its own numbers. Women took 54 per cent of all full-time Pre-Apprenticeship places in 2026, up from just 8 per cent the year before.
WA School-based Apprentice of the Year Marlissa White, from The Vines, completed a Certificate II in Automotive Servicing Technology through MTA WA while employed by WesTrac. Marlissa is pursuing a career in the automotive industry and is helping inspire other young people to consider vocational education and training pathways.
That work of inspiring others is already showing results, with 72 female applicants now registered for CET's February 2027 intake.
A pathway that begins again
For many in WA's multicultural communities, vocational education is not only a career pathway but a way of rebuilding.
Leaving Iran was extremely difficult for Shokooh. She left family, friends and a life she had built so that she could build a better future for herself and her family. Having relocated twice through a humanitarian visa pathway, first to Türkiye (formerly Turkey) and then to Australia, she developed remarkable strength and resilience.
When ETI CEO Carl Copeland presented her with her award, it marked how far that journey had come. Starting again was overwhelming, but Shokooh wants to use her lived experience to now help others. She chose to study allied health because she understands the complexities of difficult situations and wants to help people feel understood and supported.
