This award recognises large businesses and enterprises that have achieved excellence in the provision of nationally recognised training to their employees.
Meet the finalists in the Large Employer of the Year category for the 2025 South Australian Training Awards – truly inspiring organisations!
Proudly sponsored by Mas National
BAE Systems Australia is the nation’s most versatile defence and security company, with a proud heritage in air and maritime sustainment, shipbuilding, and advanced defence technology that protects people, critical infrastructure, and national security.
Ongoing investment in training and professional development underpins BAE’s success. Qualified in-house trainers deliver nationally recognised programs, ensuring consistent, high-quality learning that enhances staff competence, compliance, and operational performance while fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Employees gain confidence, productivity, and initiative, driving innovation and service excellence. Internal assessments also streamline onboarding and career development.
BAE co-developed Australia’s first ‘degree apprenticeship’, enabling apprentices to earn a Bachelor of Software Engineering (Honours) alongside five years of relevant work experience. Partnering with South Australian Technical Colleges, BAE co-develops curriculum in welding, fabrication, CAD, robotics, and automation, aligning education with industry standards. These programs create clear pathways from school to apprenticeships, ensuring a skilled, future-ready workforce.
BHP is a world-leading resources company, operating in more than 90 locations worldwide, with products sold globally. Its South Australian operations include surface and underground mining in one of the world’s most significant copper, gold, silver, and uranium basins.
Training and workforce development are integral to BHP’s business planning, guided by structured 2-year and 5-year workforce plans. These plans address short- to medium-term operational needs while anticipating long-term industry trends, enabling BHP to ‘grow its own’ skilled workforce in a competitive South Australian skills market.
A hallmark of BHP’s apprenticeship program is its rotational structure, giving apprentices hands-on experience across departments. Line leaders and team members are trained to integrate apprentices effectively, supporting both junior and adult learners, including external candidates and existing employees. Leadership programs further equip staff to manage teams, drive innovation, and lead with integrity, consistently building confidence, capability, and readiness for greater responsibility across the organisation.
RetireAustralia is a leading owner, operator, and developer of retirement villages, committed to creating thriving communities where older Australians can live the life they choose in their own homes.
Central to this mission is ensuring staff are fully equipped with the skills, knowledge, and experience to support residents and advance the retirement-living sector. A dedicated learning and development team designs, delivers, and evaluates programs that align with both organisational and industry standards. Collaborating with three registered training organisations, RetireAustralia incorporates competency-based, nationally recognised training, enabling employees to achieve qualifications from Certificate III to Diploma.
Vocational education is integrated across all staffing levels, building workforce capability, productivity, and leadership skills while reducing costs. On-the-job competence, team leadership, and operational effectiveness are emphasised, particularly for frontline leaders. RetireAustralia’s structured approach to training enhances job satisfaction, wellbeing, and retention, empowering its values-led team to progress in their careers while delivering high-quality, person-centred care across its retirement communities.