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What exactly is Tradie of the Year all about?

Put simply, Tradie of the Year is a social quest. It was started by tradies, for tradies. Its mission, is to highlight the role tradies play in building Australia and keeping it going – and to have a bit of fun.

MIBT, the Masters in Building Training, helped start Tradie of the Year, putting up the Bali trip prize for the first and now second year. For this year, an awards night will be held in Sydney on 9th February, where will have ten finalists (flown in if living outa town) vying for the title of 2017 Tradie of the Year.

The Australasian Association of Builders has now come on board as our first sponsor for the Tradie of the Year Awards event. We are keen however to get more business sponsors involved so that we can develop different awards categories. For instance, at the moment, the terms and conditions promote a $10,000 prize pool consisting of a single major prize of a luxury ten-day trip to Bali, plus three supplementary prizes of $500 vouchers for tools or hardware. We believe however that our quest deserves better.

Even now as the 2017 quest is underway, we are working hard to find a sponsor for a second, equal value Bali holiday prize, so that we don’t have to choose just one winner across male and female entries. It would be great to encourage and specifically recognise, the exceptional qualities as represented by our current female entrants.

We also would love to expand the prize pool, so that our ten finalists might cover a range of social, fun and trade skill categories and each receive recognition with a fitting prize. These plans are not promises, but if anyone knows any good brand, retailer or building company that would perhaps like to sponsor Female Tradie of the Year, or some other category, please get in touch.

Watching Tradie of the Year grow and unfold on Facebook and Instagram, can become as addictive as watching a reality TV show. We have Rob Palmer, the tradie / caprenter / builder, that Danced with the Stars and worked on Better Homes & Gardens as our ambassador. So far in just this week, our reach has exceeded 150,000 people and we have passed 10,000 followers. The banter from the supporters is hilarious and also heart-felt. Characters are emerging and to some extent, the supporters are forming into tribes – although now that I think of it, there is a significant group who seem to enjoy the whole vibe and are liking a number of different contestants and contestants are also liking each other!

Tradie of the Year however, is not all about likes. We are looking at the overall tradie story. Sometimes, the story is in the picture and entry wording itself. Sometimes the story evolves and emerges through the comments of the supporters, family and friends. Just so we are clear, the official judging criteria per the terms & conditions is as follows:

(a) quality of the Entrants credentials to be Tradie of the Year, as per the post submitted,
(b) originality of the entry image, concept or idea,
(c) authenticity of the image/content submitted, and
(d) engagement, how much the audience enjoyed or liked the entry.

So, Tradie of the Year is a social quest. It is not all about likes and shares, muscles and tits. It does help that tradies by nature are built and beautiful to look at. But there is also  a mix of community, skills, dedication to trade and of course larrikin humour (aka takin the piss). As a fun event and social quest, we would hate to take ourselves too seriously. Judging will be extremely tough, but what we are really looking for is a person that most people would agree is deserving of winning the title Tradie of the Year. If you want to keep up-to-date with the quest, like our Facebook page, follow the Tradie Entry Gallery and check in from time to time.

Share & enjoy!

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