Large Training Provider of the Year.

Zeal Futures has been named the Large Training Provider of the Year at the 2026 NSW Training Awards.

This award showcases our commitment to quality vocational and secondary education, and the tremendous work happening across our organisation every day - supporting our students, collaborating with our host employers and industry partners, and helping to build the skilled workforce our communities will need in the future.

Zeal Futures is proud to be the only provider in regional NSW with an integrated model combining a Secondary School, Registered Training Organisation (RTO) and Group Training Organisation (GTO), providing pathways from school to a qualification and to a career. Through this model, we are able to support learners at every stage of their journeys, whether they're just starting out, learning a trade, or returning later to upskill.

Our Special Assistance School opened in 2026 for 15 students across years 9 and 10. The school provides a safe and welcoming environment for disengaged youth, with tailored learning pathways to help them thrive. We're already seeing a big shift in our students, supported by positive feedback from  parents and guardians, and are excited to be expanding to year 11 and 12 in 2027 and 2028 respectively.

As an RTO, we deliver 13 qualifications across 9 fields of education from 3 campuses and online. Our qualification completion rate is 76%, which exceeds the state sector average by 28%, while 93% of our students are job ready upon completion.

In addition to government funded programs, we deliver trade training in four key areas; Engineering Mechanical, Engineering Fabrication, Electrical and Mobile Plant, along with our flagship work-readiness program. This program provides six months of structured, simulated workshop training to help first-year apprentices develop safety habits, communication discipline, tool competence and teamwork behaviours in a controlled environment, all before they commence work on a real work site.

Additional to the work readiness program, we're one of very few providers in Australia with the International Welding Accreditation. That's not a coincidence - it reflects our commitment to genuine trade excellence. 

Another milestone was adding mobile plant delivery to our scope, through which we collaborated with Glencore to redsign a curriculum around system-level diagnostic reasoning, where apprentices learn to understand whole-of-system interactions combining mechanical, hydraulic and electronic. 

We've also invested in specialised heavy plant equipment and embedded auto-electrical upskilling within this training to align with the complexity of modern mining equipment. This not only meets a real industry need, but ensures apprentices can confidently apply and integrate their learnings on the job.

One thing that sets us apart is the integration between our RTO and GTO, with hosted employees representing more than 24% of our current student cohort, whether it's apprentices undertaking our Work Readiness and trade programs to trainees undertaking business qualifications. This full-service model means our host employers are liaising with one business, creating a seamless, dual-purpose ecosystem for training and development. 

Winning Large Training Provider of the Year is a reflection of our commitment to excellence, innovation and collaboration, creating opportunities for students to build confidence, thrive in their learning, and become future ready. 

Want to join an award-winning organisation? We're looking for new trainers to inspire and mentor the next generation of tradies. Register your interest below.