This follows on from Stevo’s win last year in the NSW Department of Education and Training awards, where he was named Western Apprentice of the Year, proving his hard work and dedication to his new career path is continuing to pay off.
Trainers praised Stevo’s extraordinary dedication after he completed his apprenticeship in just two years and eight months, significantly ahead of the usual timeframe.
Stevo said it was a couple of things that motivated him to fast-track his apprenticeship.
“We’re short on tradies here and the boys were getting flogged with work,” Stevo told The Cobar Weekly.
He said money was also a motivator and he was keen to move on from an apprentice’s wage and start earning a tradesman’s wage.
Stevo said he was well supported by Essential Energy throughout his apprenticeship and said that his trainers went above and beyond to help him complete his workplace assessments.
He said one trainer even came back from leave early to drive from Tamworth to Cobar for one of his assessments.
Stevo’s award recognised his efforts to take ownership of his learning, his mentoring of fellow apprentices and his ability to quickly establish himself as a respected leader within his depot.
Essential Energy’s Operations Supervisor for Cobar Shire, Sami Nardi, (Stevo’s boss) said Stevo leads by example and is always willing to help others succeed.
“We’re a team, but he’s really been pushing it to finish early. He wanted to succeed and advance himself and he’s the one that had the drive to do that. It’s a great achievement on his behalf,” Sam said.
