Australian website www.skillsone.com.au has today been named as the winner of the Associations category for the Oscar’s of the Internet – The 12th Annual Webby Awards. The SkillsOne website is an initiative of The Institute for Trade Skills Excellence (The Institute) and was designed to promote trades and skills in an interactive environment in order to address Australia’s trade skills shortage. Only nine months old, skillsone.com.au has defied the odds and taken out this coveted award against more established global websites.

Hailed as the Oscars of the Internet by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honouring excellence on the Internet. The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, and the judging panel is made up of David Bowie, Harvey Weinstein, Matt Groening, Jamie Oliver, Internet co-inventor Vinton Cerf, RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser, AKQA global creative director Rei Inamoto, Richard Branson and R/GA CEO Bob Greenberg.

Winners will be honoured at two star-studded ceremonies in New York City: The Webby Film & Video Awards on June 9th and The 12th Annual Webby Awards Gala on June 10th.

Executive Director of the Webby awards, David-Michel Davies said the awards recognised the best websites globally.

The Webby Awards honour the very best of the Internet. They honor the outstanding Websites that are setting the standards for the Internet. The SkillsOne Webby Award win is a testament to the skill, ingenuity, and vision of its creators.

Creative Director of SkillsOne and well-recognised Australian film director and television producer Peter Faiman said creativity was essential in promoting trades and skills to Australians.

Cost effective creative innovation is a key driving force behind the content and presentation of SkillsOne. We feel very proud this creativity has been recognised by the Internet community which continues to distinguish itself in the process of forging a new and profound communications art form.

Brian Wexham, Chief Executive Officer of The Institute for Trade Skills Excellence said winning the Webby Award was a great honour and recognition of the innovation and world leading development of skillsone.com.au.

A full list of both Webby Awards and People’s Voice Awards winners can be found at: http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/current.php?season=12