A bright future is ahead for former Stawell Secondary College student Tom Newton.

Over the past two years Tom has been completing a School Based New Apprenticeship (SBNA) under the instruction of Rod and Meg Blake at Bellellen Grampians Organics. Through this program, Tom completed a Certificate II in Horticulture as well as working part time at Bellellen Grampians Organics while still completing his Year 11 studies.

Earlier this year, after demonstrating his strong work ethic and an enthusiasm to enter into his chosen field of Horticulture - Turf Management, Tom moved into a full time apprenticeship at Bellellen Grampians Organics. Tom has made a great start towards his career goal, and his current employers Rod and Meg are very supportive of his ambitions and are thrilled with his achievements.

“Tom has been a fantastic student, he is very willing to learn and has developed a long way in his time with us” Meg said.

“We are sure that he will go a very long way with what he has learned and we are very pleased to have been able to support Tom’s development from the SBNA program through to his apprenticeship in Certificate III - Horticulture”.

“Whilst both Rodney and I are very pleased to have been able to offer him this opportunity, we have also gained the benefit of having apprentices within our workplace” Meg said. Any young person that is interested in taking on an Apprenticeship in Horticulture should contact Bellellen Grampians Organics or an apprenticeship centre.

Tom’s achievement, and the achievements of other students with similar stories of vocational success were recognised at a ceremony at the Ararat RSL on Wednesday September 14th. The awards acknowledged recipients for their outstanding contibution to Vocational Education and Traning (VET) and School Based New Apprenticeships (SBNA).

The School Based New Apprenticeship program has been supported by the Central Grampians Local Learning & Employment Network for the past two years. To date 53 local students have joined the program.

VET and SBNA programs provide pathways to employment for students and support them to develop specialised vocational skills. Twenty-three students and twenty-five employers received the awards which were supported by the Department of Education Science and Training’s Local Community Partnerships program.

Students from Ararat Community College, Marian College, Lake Bolac College and Stawell Secondary College received awards for a number of programs ranging from business to equine and furnishing. Employers, including Bellellen Grampians Organics also received recognition for the support they provide to students through these programs.