 NHP has again looked to nurture Australia’s young engineering talent by sponsoring and selecting the 2009 NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association) National Industrial Apprentice of the Year as well as sponsoring and selecting the 2009 NECA Electrotechnology Secondary School Student of the Year.
Given the increasing quality of Apprentice of the Year applicants each year and therefore the upward movement of the benchmark to be the ‘Best of the Best’ in the industrial category, of the six state finalists only three were invited to attend the National Finals held at NHP’s National Manufacturing and Warehouse Facility, Laverton on November 17.
The three national finalists for 2009 were Marco Mitic from Electrical Group Training/New Era Electro Service in Western Australia, Tim Vining from O’Donnell Griffin in Victoria and Giuseppe Zappulla (Joe) from Control & Electric in Canberra. This year’s judges included some familiar faces such as Graeme Morse of John March & Co, Darren Margerison of AEGIS, Brian Seymour of Moyseur Consulting and Steve Young and David Maxwell from NHP. The judges put the three national finalists through their paces and, as in past years, the judge’s decision was a difficult one.
The winner was announced at the NECA Apprentice of the Year Cocktail party in Melbourne on November 25 and it was there that Giuseppe Zappulla (Joe) from Control & Electric was crowned the winner of the NECA Industrial Apprentice of the Year award for 2009. Tim Vining from O’Donnell Griffin was awarded second place and Marco Mitic from Electrical Group Training/New Era Electro Service third.
“I found the process challenging but I have brought quite a lot away from it,” said Zapulla. “The judges really put us through our paces in order to find a winner but it was also a lot of fun. It’s an amazing achievement but I am also quite humbled.”
Congratulations Joe on this fantastic achievement and to Tim and Marco for an extremely high standard final.
Furthermore, the winners of the 2009 NECA National Electrotechnology Secondary School Student Awards were also announced in Melbourne at the NECA Cocktail function.
The winners and runners-up for this year’s awards for Innovation were: Winner: Mark Pagan from Colo High School in New South Wales. Second place: Meghan Batchedor from Wagga Christian College, New South Wales. Equal third place: Keegan Palverino from Pacific Lutheran College, Queensland, and
Dominic Zielinski from Catholic Regional College Sydenham, Victoria
The winner and runner-up for this year’s awards for Industry Commitment were: Winner: Callum Stewart from Girton Grammar School in Victoria. Second place: Adam Baxter from Epping Boys High School, New South Wales.
“As the industry’s peak body representing electrical and communications across Australia, NECA is delighted with the quality of finalists for this year’s Apprentice of the Year awards. It is essential for our industry to continue developing and skilling apprentices to ensure we have a talented pool of people to sustain it in the future. With the challenging economic conditions of the past 18 months, it has been even more important to maintain our skills base so that the industry is able to take advantage of the opportunities that come with economic recovery,” said James Tinslay, NECA National Chief Executive Officer.
By highlighting the success and excellence of the young people currently working in our industry, the electrical industry will attract even more talent which is good not only for our industry, but for NHP as well. |
NHP Electrical Engineering Products Pty Ltd (NHP)’s philosophy of providing ‘what you want, where and when you want it’ has further been reinforced by the opening of our new Launceston branch on October 19.