Hard work and the ability to multitask paid off for Inverell’s Layne Fitzgerald and Emmaville’s Brandon Davis at the regional TAFE awards last week.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
“I couldn’t believe it really,” said Inverell High year 12 student Layne, who received the 2016 School Based Apprentice/Trainee of the Year award for his work with local business Goodas Wool Trading.
Layne spends every afternoon and one full day a week classing wool, and is working toward building a career in the industry.
“It’s good, I love it,” he said. He recently finished a shearing course as part of his TAFE studies, and enjoyed the unique experience.
Going on to the state awards in Tamworth on June 23, Layne is determined to show up his manager James Anderson, who received the regional award two years previous.
Growing up on a farm, Layne has always had a love for agriculture and snatched the opportunity when Goodas advertised a job vacancy. In 10 years time he said he hoped to own the store.
Brandon was stunned by his 2016 TVET Student of the Year award after initially being told he wasn’t eligible.
“They actually told me I couldn’t get it because I left school and became a mechanic,” he said. However a last minute decision by the judges recognised that the rules had changed.
“That all changed within the matter of a week, and when they told me I actually didn’t think it was real – because I wasn’t allowed to get it!” he said.
Brandon felt his transition from studying automotive with Glen Innes TAFE to becoming a mechanical technician at Glen Severn Holden may have helped him stand out. He was proud of turning his studies into a viable career.
“I’ve always wanted to be a mechanic, my whole life, and that was just a starting path for me,” Brandon said. Growing up with a love for cars, the TAFE course simply sharpened Brandon’s career focus.
“My goal is still today to own my own shop,” he said.
He loved the sense of accomplishment he felt as a mechanic.
“You see them come in and they don’t run and then when you drive them out the door, you get that achievement that you’ve actually done something,” he said.
“You pass a car and you can actually say ‘I fixed that’ or ‘I built that’. And that’s me every day.”
TAFE NSW regional general manager Kate Baxter congratulated the nominees for “achieving a level of personal, and professional, excellence”.
“We could not maintain our reputation as the leading training provider in our communities if it were not for the dedication, knowledge and commitment of our staff and the loyalty of our students.”