August 6, 2018
Amanda and Mick Astill, from Astill’s Electrical, will be off to Brisbane in September to compete in the Queensland Training Awards after winning a trophy at the Darling Downs South West Queensland awards on Friday night.
Astill’s Electrical won the Small Employer of the Year award.
Their citation read:
Astill’s Electrical is a family-run business, located in Queensland’s South Burnett and Sunshine Coast regions. The business currently employs an administrative team of two, along with an electrical team of nine electricians, one refrigeration mechanic and four electrical apprentices. Astill’s is active in the local community, providing work placement for vocational students from the area’s high schools, and apprenticeship and employment opportunities for school-leavers.
Amanda told southburnett.com.au their five apprentices all undergo their training at the Kingaroy TAFE campus.
Also recognised on Friday night at the awards ceremony in Oakey were Paige Gayton, from Nanango Veterinary Surgery; and Samantha Nordling-Baker, from SBCare in Kingaroy.
Paige was a finalist in the Vocational Student of the Year category. She has a Certificate I in Animal Studies and will begin a traineeship in a Certificate II this year, a training pathway she hopes will lead to a career in the veterinary industry.
Samantha was a finalist in the Bob Marshman Trainee of the Year award category. She is studying a Certificate III in Community Services at Kingaroy TAFE and is grateful to SBCare for the opportunity to get her foot in the door of the healthcare industry.
SunPork also won an award on Friday night for their Tong Park farm at Warra and their world-first pilot scheme where they employed and trained adults with autism in specialist animal care.
The company took home the Medium Employer Of The Year award and will also be heading off to the gala awards ceremony in Brisbane on September 8.
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Darling Downs & South West Winners
- Harry Hauenschild Apprentice of the Year: Tom Bourne, Newtown (Certificate III in Engineering Mechanical Trade (Maintenance-Diesel Fitting)
- Bob Marshman Trainee of the Year: Shyann Doyle, Dalby (Certificate III in Business)
- Vocational Student of the Year: Samara Hegarty, Frenchville (Certificate IV in Captive Animals)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year and Equity VET Student of the Year: Tayla Dennis, Roma (Certificate I in Business)
- School-based Apprentice or Trainee of the Year: Lachlan Darr, Oakey (Certificate III in Agriculture)
- VET Teacher or Trainer of the Year: Leanne Morgan, Ravensbourne (TAFE Queensland)
- Community Training Initiative of the Year: YWCA Queensland, Toowoomba – The Giving a Hand program
- Large Employer of the Year: Easternwell, Toowoomba
- Medium Employer of the Year: SunPork Farms Tong Park, Warra
- Small Employer of the Year: Astill’s Electrical Services, Kingaroy
