THE hunt is on for the Whitsunday construction industry's brightest stars, with nominations now open for the 2016 Construction Skills Queensland Excellence Awards.

Members of the local construction industry are encouraged to nominate apprentices, trainees, schools, trainers, training organisations and employers they feel deserve recognition for their training achievements.

Over the last two decades, the CSQ Excellence Awards have grown to become the construction industry's most prestigious and celebrated awards program.

CSQ CEO Brett Schimming said the awards provided an opportunity to honour those who had made an important contribution to Queensland's building and construction industry.

"For 21 years, the CSQ Excellence Awards have shone a spotlight on the hard work that takes place in our industry on a daily basis but is often taken for granted," he said.

"This could be an apprentice who has overcome challenges to complete their training, a company embracing new technology in their training programs or an inspiring supervisor who leads by example.

A new Innovation in Construction Training category has been introduced this year to recognise employers who are applying "cutting edge" training methods.

Nominations for the awards close Friday, September 16. Tickets for the awards evening are on sale now at $175 per person or $1600 for a table of 10 and can be purchased at www.csq.org.au/awards.

For more information contact CSQ on 1800 798 488 or visit www.csq.org.au/ excellence-awards.