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Awards Categories
These categories cover the full supply chain from silviculture to logging, road civil engineering and then to truck drivers, port marshalling and stevedoring. Some will be very specific to a sector of the industry but the general ones are available to anyone. Nominations can be made by your company, your manager, your colleague or you can self-nominate. If you require assistance completing the required content please contact us and we can assist you.
Criteria for each of the awards categories can be found below.
Trophy Supreme Forest Industry Award (Skilled Professional Trophy)
This award recognises an individual for leading in their field of expertise, demonstrating excellence in professional skills, attitude & attributes recognised by their peers and employers and of genuine good character
To be eligible for this award the individual must:
Have been awarded one of the following certificates from this TOTS Forestry Awards:
- Forestry Excellence Award
- Harvesting Excellence Award
- Distribution Excellence Award
- Wood Processing & Manufacturing Excellence Award
- Roading Excellence Award
- Tree Faller Excellence Award – Mechanised
- Tree Faller Excellence Award – Manual
- Truck Driver Excellence
- Log Processor Excellence
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NZ Apprentice of the Year – Certificate
This award recognises an individual’s commitment to self-development and skill achievement through the NZ Apprenticeship programme
To be eligible for this award the trainee must:
- Demonstrate a successful and purposeful commitment to personal development through industry training. This includes a consistent training programme, culture and vision
- Have a Competenz training history of at least 2 years
- Have their nomination supported by the General Manager/Managing Director/ CEO or company principal
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Trainee of the Year – Certificate
This award recognises an individual’s commitment to self-development and skill achievement through industry training
To be eligible for this award the trainee must:
- Demonstrate commitment to self-development and skill achievement through industry training
- Have completed a minimum of 1 National Certificate in the training year 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026
- Be employed in the wood industry at the time of nomination
- Have their nomination supported by the General Manager/Managing Director/ CEO or company principal
NB: NZ Apprentices who are in a continuing NZ Apprenticeships programme or who completed their NZ Apprenticeship during the training year are not eligible
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Forestry & Establishment Excellence Award – Certificate
This award recognises an individual who is involved in within one of these areas across the forestry operations chain – establishment, silviculture, fire and demonstrates excellence beyond best practice guidelines.
To be eligible for this award the individual must:
- Demonstrate a high quality of work output
- Demonstrate productivity in their work output
- Show evidence of on-going training
- Comply to environmental and health & safety practises
- Be recognised by their peers and employers
- Show good character with being positive, honest and reliable
- Demonstrate a high quality of work output
- Demonstrate productivity in their work output
- Show evidence of on-going training
- Comply to environmental and health & safety practises
- Be recognised by their peers and employers
- Show good character with being positive, honest and reliable
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Roading Civil Excellence Award – Certificate
This award recognises an individual who demonstrates an excellence across a range of skills within the roading establishment chain beyond best practice guidelines
To be eligible for this award the individual must:
- Demonstrate a high quality of work output
- Demonstrate productivity in their work output
- Show evidence of on-going training
- Comply to environmental and health & safety practises
- Be recognised by their peers and employers
- Show good character with being positive, honest and reliable
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Harvesting Excellence Award – Certificate
This award recognises an individual who demonstrates an excellence across a range of skills within harvesting including heavy equipment operators, QC’s and any positions held on the skid beyond best practice guidelines
To be eligible for this award the individual must:
- Demonstrate a high quality of work output
- Demonstrate productivity in their work output
- Show evidence of on-going training
- Comply to environmental and health & safety practises
- Be recognised by their peers and employers
- Show good character with being positive, honest and reliable
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Distribution Excellence Award – Certificate
(Includes an individual that is involved in dispatch and port workers including log marshalling and stevedoring).
This award recognises an individual who works within one of these areas across the distribution chain and demonstrates excellence beyond best practice guidelines.
To be eligible for this award the individual must:
- Demonstrate a high quality of work output
- Demonstrate productivity in their work output
- Show evidence of on-going training
- Comply to environmental and health & safety practises
- Be recognised by their peers and employers
- Show good character with being positive, honest and reliable
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Wood Processing & Manufacturing Excellence Award – Certificate
This award recognises an individual who demonstrates an excellence across a range of skills within the wood processing & manufacturing chain beyond best practice guidelines
To be eligible for this award the individual must:
- Demonstrate a high quality of work output
- Demonstrate productivity in their work output
- Show evidence of on-going training
- Comply to environmental and health & safety practises
- Be recognised by their peers and employers
- Show good character with being positive, honest and reliable
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Tree Faller Excellence Award – Mechanised – Certificate
This award recognises an individual who works in felling trees with mechanical operations and demonstrates excellence beyond best practice guidelines
To be eligible for this award the individual must:
- Demonstrate a high quality of work output and productivity
- Must have a good working knowledge of local harvesting rules & regulations
- Demonstrate that they know how to use efficient felling and logging techniques
- Demonstrate a knowledge of local circumstances including weather and location
- Show evidence of on-going training
- Comply to environmental and health & safety practices
- Be recognised by their peers and employees
- Show good character with being positive, honest and reliable
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Tree Faller Excellence Award – Manual – Certificate
This award recognises an individual who works in felling trees with manual operations and demonstrates excellence beyond best practice guidelines
To be eligible for this award the individual must:
- Demonstrate a high quality of work output and productivity
- Must have a good working knowledge of local harvesting rules & regulations
- Demonstrate that they know how to use efficient felling and logging techniques
- Demonstrate a knowledge of local circumstances including weather and location
- Show evidence of on-going training
- Comply to environmental and health & safety practices
- Be recognised by their peers and employees
- Show good character with being positive, honest and reliable
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Truck Driver Excellence Award – Certificate
(Includes an individual that is involved as any truck driver within the forestry supply chain.)
This award recognises an individual who works as a truck driver and demonstrates excellence beyond best practice guidelines.
To be eligible for this award the individual must:
- Demonstrate a high quality of work output
- Demonstrate productivity in their work output
- Show evidence of on-going training
- Comply to environmental and health & safety practises
- Be recognised by their peers and employers
- Show good character with being positive, honest and reliable
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Log Processor Excellence Award – Certificate
This award recognises an individual who works with mechanical log processor operations and demonstrates excellence beyond best practice guidelines.
To be eligible for this award the individual must:
- Demonstrate a high quality of work output
- Demonstrate productivity in their work output
- Show evidence of on-going training
- Comply to environmental and health & safety practises
- Be recognised by their peers and employers
- Show good character with being positive, honest and reliable
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Crew of the Year Award – Trophy
This award recognises an entire crew that provides outstanding service to the forestry industry
To be eligible for this award the crew must:
- Deliver with conviction in areas of production, health & safety, and human resource management
- Deliver their service with a quality output
- Demonstrate strong leadership skills
- Be endorsed by forest owner or manager
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Outstanding H&S Management Award – Trophy
This award recognises performance of an individual or company that demonstrates above and beyond the general compliance of health and safety policies and regulations within the forestry industry
To be eligible for this award the individual/company must:
- Meet the baseline Health & Safety standards as per the Approved Code of Practice for Health & Safety in forest operations and Competenz Best Practise Guidelines
- Have possibly managed a specific event with outstanding merit
- Have possibly demonstrated a new or innovative health & safety product which will be of advantage to industry
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Outstanding Environmental Management
This award recognises performance of an individual or company that demonstrates above and beyond the general compliance of environmental management rules and regulations within the forestry industry
To be eligible for this award the individual/company must:
- Demonstrate environmental leadership (within crew/ business/industry).
- Demonstrate environmental investment/value/innovation.
- Show evidence of sound practices that foster a culture where environmental performance is improved through learning.
- Show recognition by industry/community stakeholders (which is letters/videos/snapchat etc. of endorsement)
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Innovation Excellence
This award recognises an individual or company that demonstrates above and beyond standard innovation whether it be product, performance or process that is innovative and has positive productive outcomes to add value to the forestry industry.
To be eligible for this award the individual/company must:
- Demonstrate innovative qualities
- Demonstrate significant investment/value/innovation
- Show evidence of significant success outcomes that can be translated to others
- Show recognition by peers/employers/industry… (which is letters/videos/snapchat etc. of endorsement)
Good Deed Award
Recognise a person within the forest industry for a good deed, for paying it forward, for helping others or for supporting a charity through an initiative or action. Just someone who does something for someone else without thinking about themselves. Yes, it is over and beyond the call of duty actions, we are looking for.
Nominate them here – then and on the night of the awards we will ask for the people to choose their winner, votes counted and the person acknowledged with a perpetual trophy and miniature to keep.
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Hero of our Industry
The Top of the South see this award as a leader board for those that have made a difference to the industry locally and nationally and be recognised for what they have contributed to move the forest industry forward.
NOT OPEN FOR NOMINATION – Judges discretion
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