Horizon2 | Queensland Training Awards | Care2Career
Horizon2 and Civic Assist Celebrate 2026 Queensland Training Awards Win
Horizon2 and Civic Assist are incredibly proud to celebrate Care2Career being named Community Training Initiative of the Year at the 2026 Queensland Training Awards Darling Downs South West Regional Final.
We are enormously proud to announce that Horizon2 has once again been recognised at the Queensland Training Awards, this time alongside our valued community partner Civic Assist.
Care2Career was named the 2026 Darling Downs South West Community Training Initiative of the Year, recognising the impact of a program designed to help local women build skills, confidence and pathways back into the workforce.
We thank the Queensland Training Awards team for a wonderful evening and for the considerable effort that goes into recognising vocational education, training and community initiatives throughout Queensland.
Community Training Initiative of the Year
Darling Downs South West Regional Winner: Care2Career, delivered through the partnership between Horizon2 and Civic Assist.
A second Community Training Initiative regional win
This recognition marks the second time Horizon2 has been part of a program recognised as a regional Community Training Initiative of the Year at the Queensland Training Awards.
In 2024, Horizon2 and Carinity Fassifern Community Centre were recognised for their community employment pathways program in South East Queensland.
Two years later, we are enormously proud to see the Care2Career partnership with Civic Assist recognised in the Darling Downs South West region.
These awards are an acknowledgement of what can be achieved when vocational education, community organisations and local support services work together around the needs of students.
Thank you to everyone who made the evening possible
Horizon2 sincerely thanks category sponsor New Acland Coal for supporting the Community Training Initiative of the Year award.
We also congratulate our fellow regional finalists: Multicultural Australia for the Building Skills for the Future program and the Southern Downs Industry Education Association for the Community Workforce Participation Program.
Being recognised alongside organisations creating meaningful training and employment opportunities throughout the region makes this achievement even more special.
A partnership built around our students
A very special thank you goes to our partners at Civic Assist, who have gone above and beyond to support the women participating in Care2Career and who continue to make an enormous contribution to the Toowoomba community.
Care2Career was created to help women take meaningful steps towards returning to the workforce after a period of absence, combining vocational education with tailored, community-based support.
Through the program, participants have had the opportunity to develop practical skills, build confidence, gain nationally recognised training and create pathways towards employment in the community services sector.
Most importantly, congratulations to our students
Awards are a wonderful acknowledgement, but the achievement that matters most is what has been accomplished by the women who placed their trust in the Care2Career program.
We are incredibly proud to say that the students have now completed Certificate III in Community Services, in addition to completing the Certificate II in Community Services requirements of the Care2Career program.
Continuing their training journey
The Care2Career students did not stop at the program's Certificate II training. The cohort continued their education and has now completed Certificate III in Community Services.
Creating pathways through community-based training
Care2Career is supported through the Queensland Government's Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative, which provides tailored, local community-based support to help Queensland job seekers gain the skills, qualifications and experience required to enter and remain in the workforce.
Programs delivered through Skilling Queenslanders for Work recognise that there is no single pathway into employment.
People can face very different barriers and circumstances, and effective training needs to recognise the individual behind the qualification.
Skilling Queenslanders for Work supports Queenslanders including:
Women re-entering the workforce
Young Queenslanders requiring additional support
Mature-age job seekers
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
People with disability
Veterans and ex-Australian Defence Force personnel
Recently released prisoners
People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
The courage to create a different future
Returning to education or employment can be a significant step, particularly after experiencing circumstances that have affected confidence, stability or connection with the workforce.
Whether someone is settling into a new country and building confidence with English, returning to work after raising children, rebuilding after domestic and family violence, or recovering from challenges involving addiction or mental health, choosing to make a change can require enormous courage.
That courage is exactly what we saw throughout Care2Career.
We saw women show extraordinary determination to create a different future for themselves and their children.
It has been an incredible privilege for Horizon2 to play a part in their journey, and we look forward to supporting many more local women as they build skills, confidence and new opportunities for the future.
FINALIST
Care2Career progresses to the 2026 State Final
As the Darling Downs South West regional winner, Care2Career will now represent the region as a finalist in the Community Training Initiative of the Year category at the 2026 Queensland Training Awards State Final.
Whatever happens next, we are already immensely proud of the students, staff and community partners who made this program possible.
This Skilling Queenslanders for Work funded program was made possible by the Queensland Government through the Department of Trade, Employment and Training.
Creating meaningful pathways through education
Horizon2 is proud to work alongside community organisations to deliver training that responds to local needs and creates genuine pathways into employment.
If your organisation would like to discuss a community training partnership or workforce development opportunity, we would love to hear from you.
Contact Horizon2