It has been announced that NHP will be the Platinum sponsor for the national finals for the 2017 NECA Excellence Awards. This year’s annual event is being held at the new International Convention Centre (ICC) in Darling Harbour, Sydney on Thursday 23 November.

“NECA is honoured that NHP has once again agreed to be our lead sponsor,” says NECA CEO Suresh Manickam.

“We have a long-established relationship with NHP and we sincerely appreciate their support. For many years now NHP has sponsored both the main event and the industrial apprentice award, and has offered their help in the apprentice judging. To have NHP as our sole Platinum sponsor in 2017 is testament to the strength of our relationship and to their commitment to the industry.”

“As the Platinum sponsor of the 2017 NECA National Excellence, and Apprentice Awards, NHP is proud to work alongside NECA in our shared vision to ensure the future life-blood of our industry are offered the pathways to a successful future. Our strong relationship with NECA dates back to the inception of these special awards and we’re excited to again embark on this process which will no doubt uncover some of our industry’s future leaders, says NHP sales director Mark Pattison.

The first stage of the Excellence Awards process has already kicked-off, with NECA members submitting their projects in the 13 categories. These projects will then be judged at the state and territory level and finalists will be invited to state and territory events including lunches in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, and dinners in the ACT, South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Western Australia.

The first of these events will be the Victoria luncheon held in Melbourne on Friday 5 August, and the last event will be the NSW luncheon held in Sydney on Friday 8 September.

All the state and territory winners will be invited to the national event in November when the national judging commences. The national winners are announced at the final celebratory dinner in Sydney on Thursday 23 November.

The event this year will also include the National Apprentice Awards, with apprentice finalists presenting their projects during an interview with the judging panel.

“A huge amount of work goes into these events across the country each year,” says Suresh.

“We would therefore like to thank all those members and apprentices who take the time to submit projects. We wish them the best of luck for 2017. And of course, without the support of our sponsors across the country – especially organisations like NHP that sponsor multiple events, these Awards would not be possible.”