MTA Training and Employment has been awarded Large Training Provider of the Year at the 2025 South Australian Training Awards.
Recognising its unique connection to the automotive industry, and its innovative and industry integrated training model which has seen near 30 per cent growth in apprentice numbers, cementing MTA Training and Employment’s position as South Australia’s best Large Training Provider.
MTA SA/NT CEO Darrell Jacobs dedicated the win to the ongoing support of automotive industry members, customers and apprentices, “Every day our members provide us with insights and access to the latest trends and technology. Thanks to the support of our industry, the future of automotive is brighter than ever for our apprentices.”
Jacobs continued, “This approach has delivered results. Apprentice numbers have grown by nearly 30 percent in recent years, with more than 1,100 apprentices currently in training, alongside hundreds of qualified technicians who continue to upskill with us across South Australia.”
MTA Training and Employment’s unique connection to the automotive industry has informed not only its training model, but also innovative and industry leading initiatives such as Australia’s first and currently only automotive dual trade apprenticeships, its pioneering school pathways and its nation leading apprentice mentoring program.
Emphasising the role that industry not-for-profit providers have, Jacobs said, “Our training is guided by industry, and we reinvest back into industry, delivering the best outcome for apprentices and automotive businesses.”
Jacobs said the award reinforced how much there is to celebrate, “MTA Training and Employment now has more than 100 dual trade apprentices in training. We are leading from the front, with the industry and apprentices alike supporting us.”
He added, “We are in the business of changing the lives of young South Australians. We support an industry worth over $2 billion to our state’s economy through 5,000 business who employ 27,000 South Australians.”
Acknowledging the challenging past twelve months after a fire cause significant disruption to the largest workshop at the MTA Training and Employment Centre in Royal Park, Jacobs said: “The fire could have devastated us, but instead MTA staff banded together and rose to the challenge. To the credit of the MTA team, no apprentice was delayed in their apprenticeship pathway. I am merely the conductor of a group of highly talented and super passionate people.”
“Every day I come to work I admire the way MTA staff go about their business and their can-do attitude” he said.