Apprenticeship Awards at the Holmsglen TAFE.

For the past 25 years the Rotary Club of Malvern in conjunction with Barton Tafe (Formerly Holmsglen Tafe) has held Apprenticeship awards to the most outstanding apprentice as selected by the teaching staff at the college.

Apprenticeship Awards were started during the Presidency of Stuart Smith to foster an appreciation of the young people who took up a trade or craft rather that follow the path of the "professional" as was being pushed in the schools at the time.  It also led to a partnership between Rotary and Holmsglen that still persists to this day.

Each year the college is asked to select an apprentice who they think is deserving of one of the Rotary Apprenticeship Awards.  He or she can come from any of the disciplines taught and does not necessarily have to be the top achiever.  The selection is entirely in the hands of the college as to who they think is most deserving.

Over the years we have had winners from virtually every type of trade taught.  Plumbers, glaziers, plasterers, cabinet makers and bricklayers to name a few.

We invite the apprentice, his or her parents and the teachers from Holmesglen to lunch to present the Apprenticeship Award and for the apprentice to give us an insight into the reasons they have chosen their particular vocation.  It is always apparent they have always had a passion for what they are doing and that they have felt that they made the right career choice.

Some times we have been lucky enough to spend time at the college.  We have been taken on guided tours and been able to watch these skilled young people working on their projects, or being instructed on the finer points of their chosen vocation. 

It has been clear that their is an enormous amount of respect shown by the teachers and students to each other and the teachers have themselves worked in the industry and that hands on knowledge is one of the most important lessons passed on.

This Apprenticeship Awards program comes under Rotary's Vocational Service and is one way the Rotary Club of Malvern keeps it's commitment to cover all four avenues of service.