Council Apprentice wins North Coast TAFE award

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council is celebrating the strength and relevance of its apprentice training program with a third successive Council apprentice winning an electrotechnology Award at the North Coast TAFE annual Port Macquarie Campus Awards.

Apprentice Andrew Penson, who completed his apprenticeship with Council in 2011, took out the Essential Energy - James Slater Memorial Award for the 'Most Outstanding Student - Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician'.

Andrew is the third successive apprentice from Council to take out the Award with past apprentices Scott Witchard (2010) and Aaron Sherwood (2009) as the winners of this prestigious award.

According to Council's General Manager Tony Hayward the Award wins are a demonstration of the success in running an apprenticeship program that aims to exceed industry standards.

"We are extremely proud of the quality of skills our apprentices acquire whilst working for Port Macquarie-Hastings Council.  The continual high standard of our apprentices can be attributed to our overall apprenticeship program including the comprehensive recruitment process, vigilant mentoring and supervision of the apprentices, and the diverse skills and experience of our tradespeople who work with the apprentices throughout their four years. 

"This being said, the apprentices themselves are the ones who ultimately have the commitment and dedication to their trade, and these three young men who have won this award have set the benchmark for future apprentices at Port Macquarie-Hastings Council", said Mr Hayward.

Port Macquarie-Hastings Council has a long history of creating roles for apprentices that in many cases lead to ongoing jobs within the organisation.