Excellence In Non-traditional Areas

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday July 12, 2006

GR

KAREN Hourigan has been named the region's leading apprentice while Steele Adams won the award in the traineeship category.

The Hunter Regional Apprentice and Trainee Advisory (HRATA) committee awards were presented on Friday night in Western Suburbs Leagues Club's Starlight Room.

The awards recognise excellence in training along with exceptional dedication to chosen careers among apprentices and trainees from the Hunter Region in 29 vocations.

Ms Hourigan is employed and trained by EnergyAustralia and she completed her studies with TAFE NSW Hunter Institute.

After finishing her HSC, Ms Hourigan completed two years of a maths and science degree at the University of Newcastle.

Believing her only employment opportunities were overseas, she left university and became the first female apprentice motor mechanic with EnergyAustralia.

She completed her TAFE course with distinction, receiving the major awards for stages II and III, and became the first female to be the recipient of the EnergyAustralia Apprentice of the Year and the Transport Industry Training Division Encouragement Awards.

After working as a motor mechanic for 10 years, Ms Hourigan decided upon a career change and began a new apprenticeship as an electrician. She has completed every subject in her trade course with distinction, obtaining the highest average mark across NSW.

Ms Hourigan has also been awarded the J. J.thCuff Memorial Award from the Certified Electricians Association of NSW.

At the same time, she has started studying towards her diploma of electrical engineering at Muswellbrook TAFE, again completing subjects with distinction.

For several years she has been involved in several Equity in Workplace forums and Women in Non-Traditional Workplace Forums and has been nominated for Woman of the Year in a Non-Traditional Field.

Ms Hourigan has visited several schools to talk to girls in years 9 and 10 about working in non-traditional fields.

Steele Adams is employed by Newcastle City Council and his training provider is Austraining (NSW) Pty Ltd.

After completing his HSC, Mr Adams began his two-year traineeship at Newcastle City Council where he has initiated a range of new approaches for the council to manage its energy and resource consumption.

One project of excellence that he has planned, created and implemented is the Eco-Star program at the 2005 Sustainable Water Challenge.

The council has fully embraced this program, which highlights the environmental performance of Newcastle City Council's parks, beaches and pools with the installation of water saving devices, storage tanks, energy-saving hot water and lighting-control systems.

In addition, Mr Adams has delivered five workshops to local primary schools where he spoke to students about the greenhouse effect.

He has also has completed the Speechmasters Public Speaking Course with Hunter WEA, the Business Energy and Resource Management course with TAFE NSW Hunter Institute, and a number of other courses.

© 2006 Newcastle Herald

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