Rising Star: Employee, Apprentice or Trainee

The 2025 Whitsunday Business Award – Rising Star: Employee, Apprentice or Trainee of the Year – recognises an emerging talent who has demonstrated exceptional growth, commitment, and impact in their workplace. It celebrates individuals early in their career—employee, apprentice, or trainee—who show strong potential, a dedicated work ethic, and a meaningful contribution to their organisation and the broader Whitsunday region.

This award category is proudly presented by McDonald’s Restaurants (Airlie Beach, Cannonvale & Bowen).

Who Can Enter

Nominees must:

Be currently employed as an employee, apprentice, or trainee within a registered business located in the Whitsunday region.
Employee, apprentice, or trainee must have been working in the business for at least 12 months as of Monday 4 August 2025.
Be aged 16 years or over as of Monday 4 August 2025.
Demonstrate active contribution, personal growth, and dedication in the workplace.
Be self-nominated, or nominated by their employer or supervisor, with permission from the nominee to enter.

Key Dates

Applications close 11:59pm Sunday 7 September 2025
Nominations may be announced week commencing Monday 29 September 2025
Whitsunday Business Awards announcement and event will be from 5:30pm Friday 21 November 2025

Need help?

Guide to completing your Rising Star award entry »

Please contact the Whitsunday Business Awards administration team with any questions via admin@whitsundaycoastchamber.com.au

Eligibility, Terms & Conditions

Eligibility

Entrants must work in or operate a registered business within the Whitsunday Regional Council area.
Businesses must have been operational for at least 12 months as of Monday 4 August 2025, unless entering a category that permits new or emerging businesses.
Employees, apprentices or trainees must have been working in the business for at least 12 months as of Monday 4 August 2025.
Entrants must demonstrate ethical business practices and compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Sole traders, not-for-profits, and social enterprises are eligible to apply where relevant to category criteria.

Entry Requirements

All entries must be submitted via the official online nomination form by the published closing time and date of 11:59pm Sunday 7 September 2025. Entries submitted after this deadline will not be considered.
Entrants can apply to a maximum two award categories but must submit a separate application for each.
All responses must be truthful and accurate to the best of the entrant’s knowledge.

Judging

Entries will be assessed by an independent panel of judges appointed by the award program partners.
Entries that are incomplete, off-topic, or fail to sufficiently address the award criteria may be deemed ineligible and will not be forwarded to judges.
Judges’ decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into regarding outcomes.
The Judging Panel reserves the right to withdraw any entry if the business or nominee is found to have brought the Awards or award program partners into disrepute.
The Judging Panel reserves the right to move entries between categories if deemed more appropriate.

Confidentiality

All information submitted will be treated as confidential and used solely for the purpose of judging.
Judges and award program administrators are bound by confidentiality agreements.

Promotion & Media

By entering, finalists and winners agree to have their business name, logo, and images used for promotional purposes related to the Awards.
Event photography and videography may be used for marketing and reporting purposes by the award program partners.

Costs

There is no cost to enter the Awards. Finalists are responsible for their own attendance and any associated costs to attend the Awards Event.

I have read, understood, and agree to the terms and conditions of the Whitsunday Business Awards and this award category. *YesNo

I am willing and able to provide evidence, if requested, demonstrating ethical business practices and compliance with all relevant laws and regulations. *YesNo

I grant permission for my contact details to be shared with regional media for potential interviews and publicity opportunities. *YesNo

Business Information

Your First and Last Name *

First and Last Name of the individual you want to nominate: *

What is their job title/position? *

When did they start/first day of employment? *

What is their date of birth? *Nominees must be aged 16 years or over as of Monday 11 August 2025.

What apprenticeship or traineeship are their currently enrolled in (if applicable)?

For the apprenticeship/traineeship, who is the training provider (if applicable)?

Business Name: *

Australian Business Number (ABN) *

Email Address *

Phone *

Street Address/Business Location *

Suburb

State

Post code

Business Website

PART 1 - What do you do?

This section is worth 10 points.

1.1 Describe the nominees place of employment (max. 300 words, 10 points) *0 / 300

PART 2 - Their Journey

This section is worth 10 points.

2.1 Tell us about the nominee’s development and impact in their role (max. 300 words, 10 points) *0 / 300

PART 3 - Contribution in Action

This section is worth 30 points.

3.1 What makes this individual stand out as a future leader? (max. 600 words, 30 points) *0 / 600

PART 4 - Broader Impact

This section is worth 30 points.

4.1 How has the nominee contributed to their workplace, industry, or the wider Whitsunday community? (max. 600 words, 30 points) *0 / 600

PART 5 - Why this nominee?

This section is worth 20 points.

5.1 Why should this individual be recognised as a Rising Star? (max. 400 words, 20 points) *0 / 400

Supporting Material

To support your application, you can upload up to three (3) supporting files (such as testimonials, reports, visuals, media coverage) and an optional video on why you should win.

Supporting document #1Maximum 20MB

No file chosen

Supporting document #2Maximum 20MB

No file chosen

Supporting document #3Maximum 20MB

No file chosen

90-second video explaining why you deserve to win (optional)Maximum 20MB

No file chosen

Please upload a high-resolution image of your business logo (if nominating a business) or of the individual you are nominating: *Maximum 20MB

No file chosen