Celebrating our Industry’s Rising Stars

The 2026 Apprentice of the Year Awards, supported by major sponsor KGM, celebrated emerging marine industry talent at the Melbourne Boat Show.

Andrea Rothwell from The Wooden Boatshop took out the overall honour and the Marine Trimming award. Ollie Shaw from Stratford Marine won Marine Mechanical, while Oscar Forbes from JPM Composites won Boat Building. Anchorage Houseboats was named Apprentice Employer of the Year.      

Congratulations to all our winners, finalists and their employers. Thank you to category sponsors Holmesglen Institute, Kangan Institute and the Australian Institute of Engineering for supporting our industry’s next generation.

Read the full story here.