Brodie Oakes, MEGT Apprentice has won the NSW Apprentice of the Year at the 2015 NSW Training Awards last night.
A thirst for “understanding how things work” runs in the Oakes family, and with encouragement from his father, a mechanical fitter, Brodie decided that he would be best suited in the manufacturing industry.
Going into his training straight from school, Brodie is currently working as a fourth-year apprentice training to complete Cert III in Mechanical Trade Engineering.
As a third year apprentice, he designed, installed and fabricated a specialised resin filter box to resolve a problem that would otherwise have cost his employer over $60,000 to fix. Brodie’s can-do attitude won him the 2014 Qenos Environmental Award for his innovative solution.
Brodie’s host employer Qenos, an Australian manufacturer and supply of polyethylene and polymers, has chosen him to lead a team of contractors providing maintenance support for a major re-work of a gas refinery and chemical plant.
Qenos has regularly provided glowing feedback and stated, “We recognise that Brodie has developed strong leadership skills and will be an asset to our organisation in the long term.”
Brodie says that “The mentoring and coaching I have received on the job has been a great support”.
Brodie with the MEGT team Danielle Purcell, Deb Elmer and Walter Pirozzi
Brodie will be moving on to participate in the National Training Awards which will be held on 19th November in Hobart.
Wishing him all the best!