Lower Chittering resident, Samantha Winter, has been announced as a WA School-based Apprentice of the Year 2021 finalist.
Samantha is completing a Certificate II in Government (Public Administration) alongside her year 12 studies at Bullsbrook College. The opportunity to study both has allowed her to successfully navigate her way through upper secondary school, after being unsure of what career pathway to pursue at the end of year ten.
“I think I would have really struggled with upper secondary school without the traineeship,” Samantha explains. “I love to just get out there and do something! The traineeship breaks up my week and is something completely different from school.”
Managing the dual-pathway is also equipping Samantha with transferrable life skills such as time management, prioritising tasks and working out a routine that causes her the least stress as possible.
“There are a lot of challenges that come with doing the school-based traineeship. Missing out on school two days a week makes it hard to keep up, and to stay motivated, as I have to do all this extra work outside of school to make up for what I have missed out on — especially when spending time with my friends seems much more fun!” said Samantha.
“I overcome this by trying to get most of my work done in school, so I don’t have to do as much outside of school. If I have any issues with the work, I will ask my teachers for help. I really just try to make my school work as easy as possible for myself so I don’t cause myself too much stress.”
While Samantha is still weighing up future career options – “Everything seems so interesting,” she said – she has been presented with the opportunity to take up a full-time role with Department Mines, Industry, Regulation and Safety (DMIRS), in the human resources sector.
“My first team I worked in at DMIRS was in human resources. I really enjoyed my time there and I am thrilled to be working back there once school finishes.
“Long term, I plan to just take every opportunity that comes my way and do whatever interests me. I may eventually go do further study if I find something I really like, but for now I am very happy with the path I am on and I am excited to see where I could go.”
Samantha is one of twenty-seven exceptional individuals and ten organisations named as finalists in the WA Training Awards 2021, which showcases excellence in the vocational education and training sector.
“It feels incredible to be a finalist,” said Samantha. “In all honesty I wasn’t fazed if I made it through the application stage or the interview stage, once we were selected as semi-finalists. I saw it as an experience and it has really made me step out of my comfort zone.
“No matter what the result is from here, I am very proud of myself for making it this far and everything else I have achieved along the way.”
Winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony on September 17, and may go on to represent the State at the Australian Training Awards in November.
