National Apprentice Employment Network

What National Apprentice Employment Network does

National Apprentice Employment Network (NAEN), formerly Group Training Australia, is Australia's largest employer network of apprentices and trainees, operating as a membership-based industry peak body representing approximately 130 Group Training Organisations (GTOs). GTOs directly employ apprentices and trainees and place them with host businesses; collectively the NAEN-affiliated network employs roughly 25,000 apprentices/trainees and engages about 100,000 host businesses across metropolitan, rural, regional and remote Australia. The organization is headquartered in Fyshwick, ACT, with a small staff team (1–10 employees) led by CEO Dianne Dayhew, CFO David Hubbard, and Chair Tom Emeleus, and is governed by a board with state-based appointed directors.

NAEN's revenue model is subscription/recurring membership fees from GTOs (annual billing; pricing not publicly disclosed), supplemented by government grants, event/conference revenue (e.g., NAEN2026 in Uluru), and corporate partnerships (AustralianSuper, Emmpressit). There is no proprietary technology platform; the technology footprint consists of a public website (naen.com.au), a self-serve GTO directory (grouptrainingdirectory.com.au), social channels, and an online membership login. Beyond core membership representation and policy advocacy, NAEN delivers a portfolio of programs: the Today's Skills: Tomorrow's Leaders (TSTL) leadership program running since 2004, the Building Women's Careers (BWC) three-year federally funded consortium program, the Digital Skills Pilot with the Digital Skills Organisation, and the COVID-era Apprentice and Trainee Re-engagement Register hosted in partnership with the Australian Government.

NAEN's value proposition rests on evidence that GTOs achieve completion rates 5–9 percentage points higher than SME direct employment and 2–5 points higher than large employers (NSW GTOs reaching ~74%), with over 1 million apprentices graduated through the group training model since the 1970s. The organization plays an active policy role, having welcomed the October 2025 federal government apprentice incentive payment commitment and Strategic Review findings. Despite being a small staff body, NAEN functions as a national infrastructure layer for apprenticeship employment in Australia.

Name

National Apprentice Employment Network

Legal name

National Apprentice Employment Network

Website

https://naen.com.au

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NAEN is Australia's largest membership-based peak body for Group Training Organisations, representing ~130 GTOs that employ ~25,000 apprentices/trainees and place them with ~100,000 host businesses nationwide. It funds its operations via annual GTO membership fees and delivers advocacy, leadership programs, and government-funded initiatives.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Canberra

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: NAEN generates revenue through membership fees from GTOs. The organization offers a membership form and member prospectus for organizations to join and access exclusive member benefits, engage with leading experts and decision makers, and shape the future of apprenticeship employment in Australia.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

National Apprentice Employment Network (NAEN) is Australia's national peak body representing approximately 130 Group Training Organisations (GTOs) that employ around 25,000 apprentices and trainees and place them with roughly 100,000 host businesses nationwide. NAEN provides advocacy, policy engagement, professional development programs such as TSTL, and a national directory connecting employers and job seekers to member GTOs. Its primary commercial offering is membership-based representation, supplemented by targeted programs (TSTL, Building Women's Careers, Re-engagement Register) delivered with government and industry partners.

Product overview

NAEN is Australia's largest employer network for apprentices and trainees, operating as a network of approximately 130 Group Training Organisations (GTOs) that employ approximately 25,000 apprentices and trainees. The organization offers a portfolio of services including GTO representation and advocacy, the TSTL leadership development program, the Apprentice and Trainee Re-engagement Register for displaced workers, and the Building Women's Careers partnership program. Additional offerings include the GTO Directory for job seekers, annual conferences, and membership benefits for GTOs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Today’s Skills: Tomorrow’s Leaders (TSTL): Flagship professional development and leadership program for apprentices and trainees, running since 2004.
• Together We RISE

Products and services

• NAEN Membership Membership program for Group Training Organisations that provides access to exclusive member benefits, policy advocacy, and engagement with industry experts and decision makers to shape the future of apprenticeship employment in Australia.

Quantifiable outcome

• GTOs achieve completion rates 5-9 percentage points higher than SME direct employment
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Building Women's Careers Consortium Partners (AWU, Bendigo Kangan Institute, WAVE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2025NAEN is lead partner in the 'Driving Gender Equity: Strengthening GTOs to Build Women's Careers' project funded over three years under the Building Women's Careers (BWC) grants program. Foundation partners include Australian Workers Union (AWU), Bendigo Kangan Institute, and Women in Adult and Vocational Education (WAVE).
• National Careers InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 November 2024NAEN partners with the National Careers Institute within the Commonwealth Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) to deliver the TSTL (Today's Skills: Tomorrow's Leaders) professional development program for apprentices and trainees.
• Digital Skills Organisation (DSO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 May 2022NAEN and DSO established a pilot program to examine ways to better assess, incorporate and fast-track digital skills in the apprenticeship sector. DSO provides access to digital assessment and upskilling tools, and NAEN facilitates engagement of member GTOs. This is one of Australia's largest training pilots in digital skills.
• Australian GovernmentcoreOthers · 3 April 2020NAEN hosts the Apprentice and Trainee Re-engagement Register supported by the Australian Government as part of the economic response to COVID-19, connecting displaced apprentices with employers.
• Tech Council of AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNAEN collaborates with the Tech Council of Australia on the Digital Employers Forum, which reaches large companies like OfficeWorks and Woolworths and trials new approaches to digital skills training.
• Australian Workers Union (AWU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAWU is one of Australia's largest unions representing around 77,000 workers. AWU is a foundation partner in the Building Women's Careers project to advance gender equity and build careers in critical industries.
• Bendigo Kangan InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBendigo Kangan Institute is an integrated skills provider bringing together Bendigo TAFE, Kangan Institute, VETASSESS and eWorks. Foundation partner in Building Women's Careers project to deliver education and training support.
• Women in Adult and Vocational Education (WAVE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWAVE is Australia's only national, independent, non-government organisation dedicated to advancing gender equity in VET and adult education, established in 1985. Foundation partner providing expert research, policy advice, and advocacy.
• AustralianSuperminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner of NAEN
• EmmpressitminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate partner of NAEN
• Group Training Organisations (GTOs)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNAEN represents approximately 130 GTOs as the national peak body. GTOs employ apprentices and trainees and place them with host businesses for on-the-job training.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BUSY At Work: Australian not-for-profit providing apprenticeship, traineeship, and employment services nationally with ~$250M+ turnover. Directly comparable as a large-scale apprenticeship intermediary that places apprentices with host employers across skilled trades.
• MEGT Australia: One of Australia's largest Group Training Organisations, providing apprentice and trainee employment services across multiple states. Operates the same GTO business model that NAEN's members operate, making it both a constituent of and operational peer to NAEN.
• CoAct: Non-profit consortium of Australian employment services providers, including apprenticeship and traineeship delivery. Comparable as a peer industry network/peak body that supports employment services organisations delivering government-funded programs in similar categories to NAEN's GTO members.
• Apprenticeship Support Australia: Australian not-for-profit consortium delivering Australian Apprenticeship Support Services on behalf of the federal government. Directly comparable to NAEN as it operates in the same apprenticeship support ecosystem, working with apprentices, employers, and GTOs to improve completion outcomes.
• Sarina Russo Group: Major Australian apprenticeship and traineeship provider operating as a Group Training Organisation. Directly comparable because it employs apprentices and trainees and places them with host businesses in the same model that NAEN advocates for and represents at a national level.

Emerging players

• Skillinvest: Regional Group Training Organisation operating primarily in Victoria, providing apprentice and trainee employment services. Comparable as a smaller-scale GTO member-type peer, useful as a regional comparison point for the kind of organisation NAEN represents at a national level.
• Australian Apprenticeship Pathways: Government-funded careers information service helping job seekers explore Australian apprenticeships and traineeships. Comparable as an adjacent service provider in the apprenticeship information/discovery layer, partially overlapping with NAEN's GTO Directory functionality but government-backed.

Regional players

• BCITO (Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation): Industry training organisation in New Zealand responsible for apprenticeship arrangements in building and construction trades. Comparable as a regional peak body counterpart that represents apprenticeship delivery in a specific industry vertical, mirroring the role NAEN plays across all trades in Australia.

Broad incumbents

• Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Australia's largest peak business body representing companies across industries. Comparable as a broad incumbent advocacy organisation that engages with government on skills, training, and apprenticeship policy, overlapping with NAEN's policy-shaping role but across all of business rather than focused on apprenticeships.
• TAFE Queensland: Australia's largest public vocational education and training provider, delivering technical/trade training that feeds the apprenticeship pipeline. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the VET ecosystem that delivers the off-the-job training component of apprenticeships, intersecting with NAEN's network on the same apprentices.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Nationalapprenticeemploymentnetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nationalaen
• Instagraminstagram.com/nationalaen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Apprentice Employment Network