As a business, productivity and profitability are essential for success. Flow Smart has found that both increase drastically with every apprenticeship and traineeship completed.
Providing efficient water solutions to agriculturalists, Flow Smart credits the 32 apprentices and trainees it has trained since 2005 with making the company what it is today.
Currently, 75% of the Flow Smart team is actively engaged in training with RTOs, in keeping with a key organisational objective to assist employees in furthering their education and excelling in their chosen field.
Recently, Flow Smart partnered with TAFE NSW to create a ‘Girls Can Too’ initiative, aimed at encouraging high-school girls to participate in non-traditional roles, resulting in applications to join the team.
Strong staff retention rates join the long list of wins the business attributes to its culture of education, including improving customer relationships, skill development, service refinement, productivity, profitability and ensuring that Flow Smart is excelling in its industry.

Since taking on its first apprentice 15 years ago, Hedweld hasn’t looked back. Providing engineering and manufacturing solutions for the mining and earthmoving industries, Hedweld’s focus on training allows the business to remain price competitive and creates a workforce primed to evolve with the industry.
Hedweld currently employs 17 apprentices in NSW – 29% of its workforce. Of this number, 23% of the apprentices are female and 50% of these women identify as Indigenous.
An ongoing partnership with RTO HunterNet Career Connections allows Hedweld to design and develop training that reflects the needs of the business and the industry. This partnership has seen seven of Hedweld’s employees recognised with training awards.
And it’s not only candidates reaping the rewards. Hedweld has found that the development of specialist trades reduces production lead times, achieves consistent manufacturing standards and on-time delivery and allows Hedweld to remain price competitive, highlighting that a training culture delivers on so many levels.

Small Employer of the Year