Teacher and WesTEC CEO connecting students to careers

Alfio Balsamo's 2025 TEACHX Award highlighted an innovative trade training centre offering vast career opportunities to students from Brisbane's south-west corridor.

The Excellent Leadership in Teaching and Learning award winner is the CEO of WesTEC Trade Training Centre and Principal of Pathways at Woodcrest State College. Alfio led the expansion of the facility to support nearly 1,000 students from 20 local schools, making a lasting impact on vocational education in Queensland.

Since his TEACHX, WesTEC's enrolments have increased by 15 per cent and industry partnerships have more than doubled to over 50 businesses.

WesTEC partners with schools to deliver 28 nationally recognised training programs, from Certificate II to Diploma, to students in Years 10, 11 and 12. Fields span Automotive, Salon Assistant and Barbering, Construction, Plumbing, Electrotechnology, Engineering, Health Services, Aviation, Logistics, and more. Qualifications count toward students' Queensland Certificate of Education, and the outcomes are striking: a 90 per cent course completion rate, and in 2024, a 100 per cent apprenticeship offer rate for heavy vehicle automotive students.

Major industry partners, including Cummins International, have endorsed WesTEC as a global best practice provider.

Alfio says WesTEC came about from seeing a gap between traditional schooling and practical career pathways, especially for students who thrived in hands-on environments.

"It was inspired by a desire to create a space where industry, education, and student potential could connect in a meaningful, future-focused way," he said.

An innovative governance model, uniting eight partner schools under a shared board of principals, underpins the centre's sustainable growth and collaborative direction. Committed trainers and industry mentors invest in student growth well beyond the classroom, and students consistently demonstrate resilience and purpose when given opportunities that feel real and connected to industry.

Alfio's leadership has not only elevated student outcomes but reshaped broader perceptions of vocational training by demonstrating that hands-on, industry-aligned education is a pathway to success, not a fallback option.

Looking ahead, his vision includes the development of a dedicated health hub and the continued rollout of WesTEC's signature pathways model, connecting students, schools, training, industry and community to result in employment and empowered individuals.

Know a teacher doing extraordinary work? Nominations for the 2026 TEACHX Awards are open until Friday 12 June 2026.