This award category recognises those apprentices and trainees in Victoria who have faced and overcome significant challenges in their lives that would have otherwise prevented them from undertaking or completing their apprenticeship or traineeship.
Past Recipients
2024 – Abbey Blackley – gforce employment + recruitment
“I chose a traineeship as, due to illness in year 12, I didn’t receive an ATAR so I needed an alternative path to teaching. I continued with a Cert IV in Education Support completing in 2024. Halfway through I had car accident and was rushed to the Alfred for emergency surgery. Read More.
2023 – Wendy Clark – Ai group
Wendy’s caregiving journey began because of her deep passion for assisting the elderly. Her Individual Support course provided valuable knowledge about aging, dementia and the unique requirements of the elderly while fostering a sense of community. Read more.
2022 – Hedayatullah Habibi (Habibi) – NECA Education & Careers
Habibi came to Australia early in 2021 after leaving his homeland of Afghanistan at the time the Taliban returned to power in late 2021. Immediately prior, he had been working in roles assisting both the Australian Embassy and US Air Force, which placed him in a difficult position with the change of power. Read more.
2021 – Madison Spong – gforce employment + recruitment
Madison chose this traineeship because it seemed to have more variety and hopefully could lead to a better future. Before undertaking the traineeship, she had limited options workwise and struggled to find work. Madison now feels confident about her job prospects. Read more.
2020 – Jack Meehan – Kestrel Apprentice Solutions
Jack has wanted to become a builder his whole life and was determined to land an apprenticeship. Leaving school after Year 10, he found an apprenticeship in carpentry since he enjoyed woodwork in school. Unfortunately, Jack missed out on the opportunity to learn alongside a qualified builder as his employer was not readily available to guide an apprentice, leading to Jack being unable to gain many valuable skills within the trade. Read more.
2019 – Sian Prangnell – AGA Apprenticeships Plus
Sian works on the Metro Tunnel Project currently doing a Certificate IV in Business with CYP D&C currently working across 2 business units in Marketing and MetroHub (training arm). She completed her Cert III with the project earlier in the year. She chose to commence with the project doing her Certificate III in Business because she was at a point in her life where she needed some purpose and structure as she was struggling with mental health issues at that period of time. Sian saw this as an opportunity to break the cycle that she had found herself in. Read more.