Seville Grove apprentice Blake McCarthy has been named Australian apprentice of the year at this year's National Training Awards in Canberra, as six other WA employers and apprentices were also recognised for their achievements.
Seville Grove apprentice Blake McCarthy has been named Australian apprentice of the year at this year's National Training Awards in Canberra, as six other WA employers and apprentices were also recognised for their achievements.
Seville Grove apprentice Blake McCarthy has been named Australian apprentice of the year at this year's National Training Awards in Canberra, as six other WA employers and apprentices were also recognised for their achievements.
The announcement is below:
Western Australia has taken training to new heights, achieving one of its greatest results in the nation's most prestigious training competitions.
Seven of the eight State finalists in the 2009 National Training Awards in Canberra were either winners or runners up, including Blake McCarthy, 19, from Seville Grove who won the coveted Australian Apprentice of the Year.
Blake is employed as an apprentice electrician by the Water Corporation's engineering and construction services branch.
Training and Workforce Development Minister Peter Collier said this was a fantastic result, showing the wealth of talent in WA and excellence in training.
"This is one of our best results in the national competition," Mr Collier said.
"We have taken on the nation's best and have come up winners, which is a testament to the strength of training in this State.
"The Liberal-National Government is giving training the recognition it deserves and I am delighted that it is being acknowledged in such a way at a national level.
"Everyone who took part in these awards deserves our very warmest congratulations and we should be very proud of their achievements."
The Minister congratulated the State's successful finalists:
- Hollywood Private Hospital - winner, Employer of the Year
- WA College of Agriculture, Cunderdin - winner, VET in Schools Excellence Award
- Department of Corrective Services - winner, Australian Training Initiative
- Adam Selby (St James) - runner up, Australian Apprentice (Trainee) of the Year
- Salathiel McKay (Karratha) - runner up, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander of the Year
- Daniel Lowe (Martin) - runner up, Stella Axarlis School Based Apprenticeship of the Year.
Individuals and organisations who took part in the national awards were all winners in the prestigious WA Training Awards announced in September.
"These awards recognised the outstanding achievements of WA's apprentices, trainees and vocational students, and the contribution of training providers and employers," Mr Collier said.