Patrick Pendal (Year 12) has won the Vocational Education Training (VET) in Schools category at the South Metropolitan TAFE Apprentice of the Year Awards.
To achieve his Certificate II in Automotive Servicing Technology, Patrick attended Carlisle TAFE each Friday of this year and throughout Term 4 of 2018. He also undertook 120 hours of work experience, some of which was recently completed at BMW Autoclassic in Burswood, where he has subsequently gained an apprenticeship.
When asked how it felt to receive the award, Patrick said ‘I didn’t really know how to feel to begin with. However, after talking to a 4th year apprentice that had won back to back awards, I realised it was pretty special.’
Mr Robert Stoate, one of Patrick’s mentors, spoke very highly of him, saying ‘Patrick was a pleasure to have as a student and the reward was well deserved. It is always good to be recognised as the best student in your cohort.’
Patrick’s journey to receiving this award was ably assisted by Ms Jayne Duncan, the Head of Career Development at Wesley College.
‘Ms Duncan has been amazing – I couldn’t have done it without her,’ Patrick said.
‘Her constant communication and her ability to set things up for me has been so helpful. She kept me on track with everything, in particular my hours. I remember coming into school and working on my cover letter with English teachers and practicing interviews with industry leaders that Ms Duncan had brought in.’Â
Patrick is one of the many Wesley College students to choose a non-ATAR pathway.
‘I used to think that there was this stigma about not doing ATAR. I tried doing ATAR and it didn’t seem quite right. Ever since choosing the VET pathway, I knew that it was right for me because I enjoyed what I was doing.’
Currently at BMW Autoclassic, Patrick moves the cars into the correct areas in the morning and then spends the rest of the day learning new skills whilst working with a technician. Next year his time at TAFE begins. Patrick’s mentor at BMW Autoclassic is an Old Wesleyan by the name of Clayton Roberts (73-77).
‘It makes me proud to be a Wesleyan to learn under Clayton. It shows how things go full circle. Through Clayton, an Old Wesleyan, I can envision where I may be one day in this job. He’s a great role model.’
Congratulations to Patrick on his Apprentice of the Year Award. We look forward to seeing how his career progresses after such a fine start.
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