Apprentice takes out awards
A FAR North-born electrical apprentice has been rewarded for following her dream to become a tradie.
Lauren Basedem was named outstanding apprentice of the year, electrical apprentice of the year and woman in a non-traditional trade at the Construction Industry Training Council apprenticeship awards in Canberra.
Ms Basedem was born in Innisfail and went to school in Cairns at St Andrew’s College and Redlynch College.
She moved to Canberra after finishing school to be closer to her father, a boilermaker, and to work out what career path she wanted to take.
“I started off going to uni because I did well at science in school and wanted to see if I could become a teacher,” she said.
“After a year and a half of studying, I realised it wasn’t for me, and I wanted to do something more hands-on.”
Ms Basedem said she was interested in the science of taking things apart and realising how they worked, so becoming an electrical apprentice was a natural fit.
“Being an electrician is all about taking maths and physics concepts and applying them practically,” she said.
Ms Basedem said she “always liked fixing things”.
“I used to do a lot of repairs on my first car, a 1995 BMW, because it was falling apart and we couldn’t afford a mechanic,” she said.
Ms Basedem said she was thrilled by her awards, having been unknowingly nominated by her old teacher at Canberra Institute of Technology.
She now works as an apprentice at Five Star Electrical in Canberra, but misses Cairns and hopes to return one day.