Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The North West, the West Coast and King Island are world class in so many areas. Our region is geographically dispersed and made up of hundreds of small towns, but those living in the electorate of Braddon have never considered this a barrier to achieving great things. This was highlighted yet again when it was recently announced that Moriarty's Caitlin Radford is this year's Australian Apprentice of the Year. Congratulations to Caitlin, a fifth-generation farmer, for being awarded this prestigious accolade.

Caitlin has farming running in her veins, and it isn't surprising that she's chosen a life on the land—and she's doing it with distinction. Caitlin completed a Certificate III in Agriculture at TasTAFE and is now undertaking a Diploma of Agribusiness Management through TAFE. Speaking about her national recognition, Caitlin said that winning the award was an incredible honour and that to be a representative not only for agriculture but for young people and young women in agriculture was amazing. Caitlin hopes to share her experiences and encourages others across our region to gain a qualification in their chosen field. Caitlin currently share-farms with her 86-year-old grandfather, local farming legend Reuben Radford, and together they're combining decades of experience with Caitlin's youthful perspective, business knowledge and scientific studies. I know that we've got a bright future in agriculture in Tasmania and across the entire VET sector, with passionate young role models like Caitlin inspiring the next generation to achieve great things.

I'm confident in saying that our region provides world-class training through our VET system. At the recent Australian Training Awards, the north-west coast of Tasmania had three nominations and placed first in two of them. Along with Caitlin's award, Fairbrother were awarded the Australian Apprenticeships Employer Award for their ongoing commitment to the training and development of their staff. Established in 1973, a small family owned and operated business on the North West, Fairbrother have steadily grown to become a world leader in building and construction. The company's commitment to training is world's best practice, from senior management down. This is a business that understands that their apprentice training is vital to the company's role and continued success. Fairbrother hired their first apprentice in 1974, and in 1996 the first female apprentice started. By 1998 they had 100 apprentices. By 2020, Fairbrother had trained 388 apprentices in carpentry and joinery.

Congratulations to Caitlin, Fairbrother and all the other nominees across all categories in the Australian Training Awards this year.

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