A Maitland refrigeration apprentice has been awarded a gold medal for the Hunter region in the prestigious Worldskills Australia competition, and will now go through to take on the nation's best.
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Ben McEwan, 21, a third year apprentice from J&H Commercial Services at Rutherford, will head to Perth next year for the national championship. From there, the winner will then represent Australia in the World Challenge.
The Worldskills competition is arduous - a full day of testing designed to challenge the best young tradespeople.
The annual championship is Australia's biggest vocational educational and excellence competition.
"We're delighted for Ben," J&H director Jason Kozacynski said. "We've had some very fine apprentices come through here - some who have placed in the same competition - but overall I would say Ben is the best we've had in 15 years. "He has a willingness to listen and learn. He wants to become better.
"He's happy to do extra hours if that's what 's needed, and he's very humble."
Mr Kozacynski said the apprentices are tested on five difficult aspects of the trade and the scores are then tallied.
"At J&H we do a whole range of jobs, from quite small to major commercial refrigerators or airconditioners. Our workers are exposed to a wide variety of skills, and it stands them in good stead."
