Apprentice Powers On
Newcastle Herald
Tuesday September 9, 2003
IF you're contemplating an apprenticeship or traineeship next year, Naomi Cathcart and Aaron Carle have got advice for you: go for it.
Whether it is in tourism and hospitality, business, engineering, boat and shipbuilding, health and community services, information and communications technology or construction apprenticeships and traineeships.
They can be a rewarding way of gaining on-the-job training.
Just ask Naomi Cathcart who has put in a powerful performance over the past four years. Recently, the Hunter TAFE student won the Australian Business Apprentice of the Year at the NSW Training Awards.
Naomi is the second Hunter TAFE student to win the prestigious award, following in the footsteps of boat and shipbuilding apprentice Aaron Carle who won the award last year.
According to Naomi, it was the desire for a career change and the influence of a few female electricians who inspired her to plunge into an apprenticeship with Macquarie Generation.
For the past four years, the 30-year-old from Muswellbrook has juggled working full-time with Macquarie Generation as an apprentice electrical fitter and part-time study at Muswellbrook TAFE campus.
``It can be a daunting thought to change careers, embark on a new career path and become an apprentice at this stage in life, but it has certainly been worth it," she said.
Before becoming an apprentice electrical fitter, Naomi worked as a clerical/ accountants secretary for eight years.
Hunter Institute director Gaye Hart said: ``These awards are a great example of what can be achieved when local training organisations work in partnership with industry to provide training which is relevant to current industry practices".
© 2003 Newcastle Herald