The Rotary Club of Gloucester has celebrated the achievements of the community's best and brightest with the Apprentice and Trainee of the Year awards.
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Held on the evening of Tuesday, November 28 at the Gloucester Bowling Club, a crowd of 93 made up of nominees, their family and friends, employers, and judges attended the event.
Also attending were the Area Governor of Rotary International District 9660, Laurie Easter, and assistant area governor, Bruce Moy.
The award for Apprentice of the Year was won by Lucas Harris, as nominated by Harwel Lifts.
Chelsea Oldfield was awarded Trainee of the Year, nominated by Gloucester District Vets, while the Upskill Training Award went to Nacanieli Tiko, nominated by Jacobs Building and Carpentry.
Chelsea Oldfield also achieved the highest aggregate score across the judging criteria, making her the overall winner and taking home a cheque for $250.
The night proved to be a great success with all gathered celebrating the achievements of those nominated, regardless of who took home the awards.
"They all know each other and they were all so happy to see each other acknowledged," Rotary Club of Gloucester vocational team member, Valda Barron said.
"When the winners were announced I was hoping that nobody was upset or disappointed, but they were all coming over to congratulate each other, there wasn't a frown or a tear in the place."
A total 21 nominations had been received from local businesses, eager to reward the efforts of their young employees.
We value what they are doing and we value what the businesses are doing by training these young people
- Rotary Club of Gloucester vocational team member and event organiser, Valda Barron
Entrants were judged on a range of criteria that included performance, punctuality, reliability, customer interaction, getting along with their co-workers etc.
The training of quality employees is seen as an ongoing benefit for the local community, given that the apprentices and trainees of today are the business owners and service providers of tomorrow.
"We value what they are doing and we value what the businesses are doing by training these young people," Valda said.
"While we applaud kids who go to university, the mainstay of country towns are the trades, and we're very lucky to have some good tradesmen here, and very lucky for those tradesmen to take on apprentices."
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