- Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills
Sixteen top apprentices and trainees are helping put Australia’s rich and diverse vocational education and training system in the spotlight, meeting senior politicians at Parliament House this week.
Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, the Hon Karen Andrews MP, said the visit was part of Group Training Australia’s (GTA) Today’s Skills: Tomorrow’s Leaders program, and coincides with National Skills Week.
“Since 2004, GTA has offered a career development course to leading apprentices and trainees from around Australia and the 16 selected this year from a pool of more than 20,000 candidates are outstanding,” Minister Andrews said.
“Each one of these 16 apprentices and trainees is a potential future leader in their field. Programs like GTA’s help them to develop new skills and promote Australia’s high quality, flexible vocational education and training system.
“The 16 chosen apprentices and trainees, aged from 18 to 32, offer a breadth of experience and help demonstrate the different pathways to training that are available, be it straight from high school, switching from a university degree, or changing careers later in life.
“Each of these leading apprentices and trainees prove that Australia’s vocational education system offers people a range of flexible career opportunities in different stages of their lives.”
GTA is one of the biggest Group Training Organisations (GTOs) and is Australia’s largest employer network of apprentices and trainees. In 2015, GTOs employed around 8.2 per cent (22,923) of Australia’s 278,583 apprentices and trainees.i
“Group training offers a diversity of work experiences with different employers,” Minister Andrews said.
“This approach brings businesses into the apprenticeship system that would otherwise be unable to take on an apprentice or trainee for a full term.”
For further information about the 2016 National Skills Week, visit http://www.nationalskillsweek.com.au/
Following is a list of the 16 leading apprentices and trainees taking part in Group Training Australia’s Today’s Skills: Tomorrow’s Leaders program.
| Name | Industry | Location | Completion date | |
| 1 | Ben McDonald | Electrical | Cessnock, NSW | Jan 2017 |
| 2 | Jenna Conran | Horticulture | Wollongong, NSW | Jan 2017 |
| 3 | Dean Faaptio | Construction | Sydney, NSW | Jun 2017 |
| 4 | Haydn Booth | Electrical | Coffs Harbour, NSW | Jan 2017 |
| 5 | Joshua Cosgrove | Electrical | Sydney, NSW | Dec 2017 |
| 6 | Richard Weintz | Hospitality | Sydney, NSW | May 2017 |
| 7 | Kieron Lees | Food Manufacturing | Sydney, NSW | Jul 2017 |
| 8 | Jennifer Fitzpatrick | Electrical | Diamond Creek, VIC | Mar 2018 |
| 9 | Foster Davis | Community Services | Murray Bridge, SA | Jun 2017 |
| 10 | Angelina Oates | Data & Voice Communications | Adelaide, SA | Aug 2017 |
| 11 | Shane Ross | Electrical | Adelaide, SA | May 2016 |
| 12 | Jake Andrews | Plumbing | Adelaide, SA | Aug 2019 |
| 13 | Ryan Gusterson | Electrical | Perth, WA | Dec 2017 |
| 14 | Robert Southwell | Carpentry & Joinery | Perth, WA | Jun 2017 |
| 15 | Darcy Dridan | Power Generation | Darwin, NT | Jan 2018 |
| 16 | Shawn Buckton | Electrical | Darwin, NT | Jan 2017 |
i NCVER 2016 Australian vocational education and training statistics: Apprentice and Trainee Collection, December quarter 2015.