The Queensland Water Directorate is a membership body for Water Service Providers across the state.  qldwater is working in partnership with WIOA to expand its Queensland membership, promote qldwater skilling programs and build the WIOA Queensland conference into one of the most significant events on the water industry calendar.

The award, introduced in 2010, aims to provide encouragement to water industry employees employed in the civil construction/maintenance areas of the water industry to recognise excellent performance, initiative and all round attention to detail.

qldwater sends a letter to all Councils and Water Authorities within Queensland, requesting they nominate “operations staff” to be considered for the Award.

The criteria for the determination of the winner is: Nominees should be employed in Queensland and should have direct responsibility for the operation and maintenance or construction of water and wastewater reticulation networks.

The following features are taken into account in considering worthy recipients:

1. Continuing education/training achievement;
2. Overall plant or system management and condition;
3. Demonstrated attention to Occupational Health and Safety and other regulatory responsibilities;
4. Initiative and innovation, demonstrating improved efficiency.

The completed applications are judged by an independent panel the winner is announced at the Awards Dinner at the WIOA Conference annually.

The winner receives a perpetual trophy for his or her organisation to keep for 12 months, a personal trophy to keep permanently and professional development opportunity to the value of $1,500.

The Queensland Water Directorate is a membership body for Water Service Providers across the state.  qldwater is working in partnership with WIOA to expand its Queensland membership, promote qldwater skilling programs and build the WIOA Queensland conference into one of the most significant events on the water industry calendar.

The award introduced in 2010, aims to provide encouragement to young water industry employees, to recognise excellent performance, initiative and all round attention to detail.

qldwater invites all Councils and Water Authorities within Queensland to nominate “operations staff” to be considered for the Award.

To be eligible for consideration the nominees must:

• be employed in the Queensland water industry and be aged under 30 yrs
• have been employed in the water industry for less than 4 years
• be responsible for operating community water and wastewater treatment plants/ or  industrial water or wastewater plants, operation and maintenance or construction of water and wastewater reticulation networks etc.

Nominations are judged on the basis of submissions from employers covering:

1. Commitment to and demonstrating a strong OHS ethic in all work performed
2. Commitment to undertaking training and then implementation of skills learned into the workplace
3. Commitment to team work and following enterprise SOP’s etc
4. Commitment to meeting Council/Authority and regulatory requirements in the course of all work
5. Demonstrated use of initiative or suggestions leading to efficiency or safety improvements
6.  Any other relevant industry based achievements.

The completed applications are judged by an independent panel the winner is announced at the Awards Dinner at the WIOA Conference annually.

The winner receives a perpetual trophy for his or her organisation to keep for 12 months, plus a personal trophy to keep permanently.  The winner will also receive an all expenses paid opportunity to join the WIOA delegation on the tour of New Zealand valued at approximately $3,000.

These awards are presented as an incentive to encourage “grass roots” operational staff to share their knowledge and experience. To be eligible, the author must NOT hold a tertiary (Bachelor level) qualification.

WIOA selects a number of judges at each conference who watch all the presentations made over the two days. They score each of the papers based on:

• The content and layout of the written paper;
• The originality of the ideas portrayed;
• The use of visual aids during the presentation;
• The verbal presentation and whether or not the author sticks to the allotted time; and
• The demeanor of the presenter including how well they answer any questions.

At the completion of the paper sessions, the scores are tallied and the winners determined. The prizes are:

1st Place:  Travel, accommodation and a full delegate registration to attend another WIOA conference in Australia to deliver the paper again (to the value of $1,750)
2nd Place: Complimentary delegate registration (non-transferrable) to a WIOA conference of their choice within the next 12 months (valued at $550)
3rd Place:  Complimentary delegate registration (non-transferrable) to a WIOA conference of their choice within the next 12 months (valued at $550)

In addition, WIOA arranges a plaque and an all expenses paid trip for the winner to perform their paper at another “operations” conference within Australia.

This prize is an Open category award with all Paper presenters eligible to win. By using the votes from the paper judges, the presenter with the highest number of votes will receive the Award for the Best Paper Overall at the conference.

The winner will receive travel, accommodation and a full delegate registration to attend another WIOA conference in Australia to deliver the paper again (to the value of $1,750).