Tom wins major accolade
Regular treks from St Arnaud to Warrnambool to study have paid off for Tom Hamilton.
Mr Hamilton has been named South West TAFE Outstanding Apprentice of the Year and says the long drives to Warrnambool have been worth the effort.
The Northern Grampians Shire Council apprentice is based at St Arnaud and employed through Skillinvest in Horsham.
“It’s nearly three hours from St Arnaud to Warrnambool, but I can understand why they sent us that way,” he said.
“Horticulture trainee co-ordinator Trevor Bullen is so good and his wealth of knowledge from being in the industry really helped. The set-up at Sherwood Park is really good.”
Mr Hamilton attended five oneweek training blocks at the South West TAFE Warrnambool campus as part of his apprenticeship.
The 24-year-old is enjoying the job.
“Studying parks and gardens has enabled me to work in all areas of horticulture, rather than specialising in one field,” Mr Hamilton said.
He was working part-time at a food shop when told about the parks and gardens apprenticeship.
“It was pretty much what I was looking for and I got to do it in my home town,” he said.
“It’s really good; I work with a small crew and get to do a bit of everything.”
The job has given Mr Hamilton the chance to experience all areas of horticulture and opened his eyes to the endless opportunities in the field.
Through his South West TAFE course, Mr Hamilton learnt the art of pruning, turf laying, landscaping, nursery work, irrigation and general garden maintenance.
While he loves his current role, Mr Hamilton said he would one day like to work at a large botanical garden or major sporting field.
In the meantime he has a personal goal of familiarising himself with the botanic names of as many plants as possible.
Mr Hamilton also won the 2015 Skillinvest Regional Apprentice of the Year.
In his spare time, he volunteers as both a CFA and Ambulance Victoria community officer and is a member of the St Arnaud Secondary College school council.
He also spends a lot of time helping other apprentices.
Mr Bullen said Tom was extremely dedicated to his studies at South West TAFE and was a worthy winner of the outstanding apprentice award.