1300apprentice Awards 2020

Established for over ten years, the 1300apprentice awards recognise those apprentices and trainees who excel in their chosen trade or traineeship. Nominations are supported by each host employer, field officer and for the first time this year, by the nominee themselves.

With the challenges that 2020 has brought all of us, celebrating the achievements, commitment and dedication of our apprentices and trainees has come at an opportune time. Each nominee displayed a high level of passion, work ethic and community involvement, all which are vital tools in promoting the Vocational Education & Training industry.

A special thank you to our host employers, without your support and guidance, our shared apprentices and trainees would not have had the chance to shine.

1300apprentice would like to thank our major sponsor MEGT Apprenticeship Network Provider who have been sponsoring our awards for six years. Also a thank you to Australian College of Commerce & Management who have also given their support to our awards for the past three years.

WINNERS

Select a name to read more about these winners.

Safe Practices, David Elliot – Summit Open Space Services

2nd year winner, Ryan Chin – Syndeticom Electrical and Communications Pty Ltd

3rd year winner, Samuel Sutton – Dunsteel Engineering Pty Ltd

Trainee of the year- Business, Loreen Luamanuvae – Summit Open Space Services

Trainee of the year- Engineering, Riley Amos – Dunsteel Engineering Pty Ltd

Apprentice of the year Women in Trade, Samantha Chalmers – We Are Signs Pty Ltd

Apprentice of the year, William Vlahopol – Breseight Australia Pty Ltd

ALL FINALISTS

Benjamin James, Emma Rudd, Grace Spencer, Jeremy Bush, Timothy Wohlfiel, William Mullins, Jason Beauchamp, Matthew Hansen, Brendan Pollard, Aaryn Mackenzie, Benjamin Chau, Joseph Portelli, Dylan Cecire, Justin Coleman, and Natalia Gajic.

AWARDS

David Elliot – Safe Practices

Host – Summit Open Space Services

Certificate III in Parks & Gardens

Considered a role model to other apprentices, David is often asked to train new staff in correct safety procedures. In addition to TAFE, David has undertaken several courses including chemcert, chainsaw ticket, HR truck licence, climbing certificate and an EWP licence, all of which support David and his colleagues to continue to provide a safe work environment.

A part of David’s role is tree climbing which involves a strict hazard identification analysis prior to commencing the task. This includes identifying hazards, hazard assessment checks, implementing safety procedures and regular monitoring and rectifying of hazards throughout the task at hand.

When asked about his apprenticeship, David says the best part about his apprenticeship is getting out of bed and going to a job where he gets to climb trees.

Ryan Chin – 2nd year high achiever

Host employer – Syndeticom Electrical and Communications Pty Ltd

Certificate III in Telecommunications

Highly regarded by his host employer, Ryan has always been commended for the quality of his work and is already completing tasks ahead of his expected level. Completing his studies early, Ryan strives for continuous improvement through additional study. A mentor to other apprentices in the workplace, Ryan has also won Syndeticom’s Apprentice of the Month award on numerous occasions.

Samuel Sutton – 3rd year high achiever

Host employer – Dunsteel Engineering Pty Ltd

Certificate III in Engineering (Heavy Fabrication)

Like all new apprentices, Samuel started his apprenticeship with no knowledge of engineering. Three years into his apprenticeship and Samuel is capable of reading and interpreting plans, fabricating structural steel, bending pipes and welding. Samuel’s host employer stated that he has developed an impressive quality of work for an apprentice, and his ability to understand fabricating concepts is beyond his expected level and one of his biggest attributes.

Learning new skills through work and TAFE has been one of Samuel’s most valuable experiences as an apprentice.

Loreen Luamanuvae – Trainee of the year, Business

Host – Summit Open Space Services

Certificate III in Business

Through hard work and dedication, Loreen has become an asset to her host employer’s business. Currently, Loreen has been given the important task of data coordination for two very important clients of the business. Always exceeding expectations at work and through her studies; receiving a high-quality award through Australian College of Commerce and Management.

Loreen strives to learn all facets of the organisation and the impacts of different roles. In her words “the learning and training process within the traineeship is what encourages me to continue to strive in this industry”.

Riley Amos – Trainee of the year, Engineering

Host – Dunsteel Engineering Pty Ltd

Certificate IV in Engineering Drafting

Riley’s career achievements through his traineeship are impressive. Throughout his traineeship, Riley has developed proficiencies in over half a dozen Tier-1 CAD programs using highly complicated point clouds to CNC prototyping in timber, steel, and plastics. He is self-taught in new programs and navigated through structural steel standards.

Riley also shows strong commitment by completing additional studies to further his career. He continues travelling 5.5 hours to meet his study commitments through TAFE NSW since the beginning of his traineeship.

Riley comments that his traineeship with Dunsteel Engineering has gone far beyond drafting, he has learnt about different roles within the company and able to effectively work with everyone to achieve the end product.

Samantha Chalmers – Apprentice of the year, Women in Trade

Host – We Are Signs Pty Ltd

Certificate III in Signs and Graphics

From a young age, Samantha was drawn to signwriting and moved from her rural hometown to pursue her dream. She enjoys the creative aspect of the apprenticeship and finds the digital side interesting and exciting. Samantha’s quality of work is consistent and is often said to be beyond outstanding from her host employer.

Samantha’s commitment extended to her studies at TAFE NSW, achieving top marks and progressing ahead of the timetable. When asked, Samantha feels the most rewarding part of her apprenticeship was her work colleagues and her supervisors as they made the journey enjoyable.

William Vlahopol – Apprentice of the year

Host – Breseight Engineering Pty Ltd

Certificate III in Engineering – Mechanical Trade

William has been exposed to a wide variety of work throughout his apprenticeship. He embraced each opportunity to learn new skills with commitment and enthusiasm. This quickly opened new possibilities in leadership as he took on greater responsibilities such as managing a team.

Committing to additional studies in his third year of his apprenticeship, William completed a statement of attainment in GTAW (TIG welding) which lead to him to also complete Certificate 7 in AS1796 (Gas Tungsten arc welding).

William has a passion for anything mechanical including his love for building cars – he attributes his passion to building the skills he has today.