NECA Apprentice of the Year Awards for 2009 announced

Monday, 30 November, 2009

The NECA 2009 Apprentice of the Year Awards were awarded in three categories: Industrial, Commercial/Domestic and Industrial Automation & Communications. The winners were recognised for their excellence in work skills and commitment to the industry, with all finalists having already been winners in their respective state finals.

James Tinslay, NECA national CEO, said: “NECA is delighted with the quality of finalists for this year’s Apprentice awards. It is essential for our industry to continue developing and skilling apprentices to ensure we have a talented pool of people to sustain it in the future. With the challenging economic conditions of the past 18 months, it has been even more important to maintain our skills base so that the industry is able to take advantage of the opportunities that come with economic recovery.

“The electrotechnology industry presents an enormous number of career pathways for young apprentices, with evolving technologies offering new opportunities for those who want to stay at the cutting edge. Our award winners and their employers are congratulated on their achievement and we wish all our finalists a long and successful career in the industry.”

The winners and finalists for 2009 are:

Industrial Award:

First: Joe Zappulla from ACT, employed by Control & Electric;
Second: Tim Vining from Victoria, employed by O’Donnell Griffin;
Third: Marco Mitic from Western Australia, employed by Electrical Group Training and New Era Electro Service.

Commercial/Domestic Award:

First: Richard Ryan from Victoria, employed by Victec and Nilsen;
Second: Sean Wheeler from South Australia, employed by WM Electrical;
Third: Gary Clementson from Western Australia, employed by Electrical Group Training and Team Electrical Services.

Industrial Automation & Communications Award:

First: Elissa Galkin from NSW, employed by NECA Group Training and Elam Communications;
Second: Amanda Hewison from South Australia, employed by Peer Veet;
Third: Craig Mohr, from Queensland, employed by Stowe Australia.