{"id":4195,"date":"2024-01-30T03:49:48","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T03:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/?p=4195"},"modified":"2026-04-01T02:13:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T02:13:54","slug":"interview-with-joshua-winter-winner-of-the-2023-apprentice-of-the-year-at-the-2023-apprentice-employment-network-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/candidate-resources\/interview-with-joshua-winter-winner-of-the-2023-apprentice-of-the-year-at-the-2023-apprentice-employment-network-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Joshua Winter \u2013 winner of the 2023 Apprentice of the Year at the Apprentice Employment Network Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Joshua Winter, hosted by Thales Australia \u2013 Lithgow Arms, completed his Certificate IV in Engineering \u2013 Mechanical Trade through Skillset in January 2023. He was named <strong>Apprentice of the Year<\/strong> at the 2023 Apprentice Employment Network Awards for NSW &amp; ACT.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Joshua began his apprenticeship in 2019 and achieved several impressive milestones along the way:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Most Outstanding Achievement Award<\/strong> in Fitting and Machining at the TAFE Skills Centre Awards (2019)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bert Evans Scholarship<\/strong> (2019) for financial support during his apprenticeship<\/li>\n<li><strong>Thales Apprentice of the Year<\/strong> in his second year (2020) \u2013 an award usually reserved for fourth-year apprentices<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gordon Hawkes Apprentice of the Year Award<\/strong> from Skillset (2022)<\/li>\n<li>Finalist for <strong>Apprentice of the Year<\/strong> at the NSW Training Awards \u2013 Western Region (2023)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Joshua has now completed his apprenticeship and works full-time with Thales Australia. Skillset spoke to Joshua about his career journey, what inspired him, and his plans for the future.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q: You were 17 and living in Melbourne when you decided to take up the Mechanical Trade Apprenticeship with Skillset hosted by Thales Australia \u2013 Lithgow Arms. What was the most challenging aspect of this and how did you overcome it?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong> Initially it was quite lonely. I brought my dog, Sasha, with me for company. It was just the two of us at the beginning. To meet more people and make new friends, I joined a local church in Lithgow. The people I met welcomed me and one family practically adopted me. These people really helped me with my journey. I would not have lasted without them!<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q: You chose to take up your apprenticeship with Thales Australia \u2013 Lithgow Arms, which has a long history as a manufacturer and supplier of small arms for Australian soldiers. Did you always have an interest in this field?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong> I have always had an interest in the design and manufacturing of defence tools and equipment. This stems from my interest in military history, which was sparked by my grandfather \u2013 he was a Warrant Officer Class One in the Australian Army and served for more than 30 years.<\/p>\n<p>When I was offered the apprenticeship with Thales, it was a dream come true. Lithgow Arms is one of the few places in Australia that manufactures firearms. I couldn\u2019t say no to the opportunity.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q: Did you ever consider any other careers?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong> Yes, I also considered being an infantryman or armaments fitter in the Australian Army, as well as a fighter pilot in the Air Force.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q: What do you like most about engineering and small arms design and manufacturing?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong> I enjoy the problem-solving aspects of the trade. I like the challenge of being supplied a drawing and figuring out the best way to make it, including what tools I need, whether I need to make any tools, and how the part will be held in the machine tool. I also enjoy the computer numerical control (CNC) programming aspects of the trade.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q: You have received several awards. What has been the biggest highlight of your apprenticeship and career journey so far?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong> It has been a great honour to be nominated for, and to receive these awards. Some of the biggest highlights have been making complex and accurate parts and travelling around the country for work.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q: Now that you have finished your apprenticeship and are working full-time, what are your plans for the future?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong> I see myself always working in the manufacturing industry. I am currently adding to my skills by undertaking a Certificate III in Toolmaking.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Q: What advice would you give to other young people who may be considering a trade or career journey but are worried about relocating and leaving family and friends?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Joshua:<\/strong> If you are really passionate about a trade, just go for it! You will make new friends and meet new people along the way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joshua Winter, hosted by Thales Australia \u2013 Lithgow Arms, completed his Certificate IV in Engineering \u2013 Mechanical Trade through Skillset in January 2023. He was named Apprentice of the Year at the 2023 Apprentice Employment Network Awards for NSW &amp; ACT. Joshua began his apprenticeship in 2019 and achieved several impressive milestones along the way:&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6998,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","footnotes":""},"categories":[57,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-candidate-resources","category-success-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4195"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6999,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4195\/revisions\/6999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/6998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skillset.com.au\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}