Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary wins top training award

The Gold Coast’s Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary has won the Community Training Initiative of the Year award at the 2026 Queensland Training Awards for a new program providing a successful pathway to employment for Queensland job seekers.

The Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary has been well known as a tourism destination for almost 80 years – receiving over 555,000 visitors each year – with its core mission to be a champion for conservation efforts.

However, the 2026 Queensland Training Award is for a new conservation-based community training initiative the organisation has launched called N.E.S.T. (the NTAQ Eco‑conservation Skills Traineeship).

NEST is a Skilling Queenslanders for Work program which supports disadvantaged job seekers to transition into employment through hands‑on learning in real conservation settings.

The NEST program offers the opportunity for trainees to complete an 18‑week full‑time paid traineeship in Certificate I in Conservation and Ecosystem Management plus additional industry‑required qualifications.

Delivered across Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Garima Conservation Reserve and Eco Parklands, the program provides a unique combination of accredited training and meaningful on‑the‑ground conservation work.

Participants often come to the program with a range of employment barriers, including long-term unemployment, limited work experience, low confidence and personal challenges.

NEST addresses this through the funded 18-week traineeship combining accredited theory and skills training with paid, hands-on work.

Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Head of Volunteer Programs and Community Training Jane Jamieson said winning the 2026 Queensland Training Award’s Community Training Initiative of the Year was an honour.

“A key strength of NEST is delivery within real conservation environments at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Garima Conservation Reserve,” Jane said.

“It's such an amazing program because the trainees are obtaining qualifications in how to do bush regeneration. That takes them into career paths in the conservation industry, learning habitat restoration that then supports our Aussie Wildlife. It’s just a brilliant pathway.

“We've had such good outcomes with this program.  We're now up to our sixth intake and in all of our intakes we have had more than 90% employment outcomes because they love the work they do and the difference they can make.

“We are so inspired to train them to be conservation champions, and they're so inspired to do their training really well.

“VET training is so essential because it helps people gain real skills which then creates career pathways. It's all about pathways”,” she said.

Learn more about the Queensland Training Awards.

Learn more about Skilling Queenslanders for Work.