By CASEY NEILL
“I’M expecting him to apply for the CEO’s job before long.”
Alex Woller is unfazed by this suggestion from Actco Pickering Metal Industries partner and Greater Dandenong business big gun Jill Walsh.
“If there’s an opening, of course I will,” he replies.
The 20-year-old has every reason to be confident.
Last month he rose above apprentices from every Chisholm campus and discipline to win the TAFE’s Apprentice of the Year title.
“The parents were proud as punch,” he said.
“As soon as I got it Dad was shaking my hand and Mum was giving me hugs.
“It didn’t really sink in until a couple of hours later when we got home and started ringing up all the family.
“My grandmother, she cried when we called her. She was just crying, she couldn’t get a word out for a couple of minutes.
“I don’t like my grandma to cry, but she was happy.”
It followed receiving the Youth Enterprise Award at March’s Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce Premier Regional Business Awards.
Chisholm has also nominated Alex for the Victorian Apprentice of the Year title.
“All the hard work that I’ve done, all the studying that I’ve done is finally starting to show,” he said.
“I’m just proud of what I’ve done, what I’ve achieved.
“I’ve always strived to be the best that I can be. I’ve always done extra hours at work, extra hours at TAFE, just learning new things.
“That’s just shown in how capable I am now and how much I’ve learned.”
Alex started his apprenticeship elsewhere but wasn’t happy “doing a lot of the same thing over and over”.
Training agency Link Employment recommended Actco Pickering Metal Industries in Dandenong South, which supplies the rail, defence and aerospace industries.
“As soon as I got here I fell in love,” he said.
“It’s just a great environment to work in. They’re always testing what I can do.
“They’re always giving me new jobs, new skills to learn and I’ve just developed a lot from when I first started here about 14 months ago.
“I think of all the workers here as a family.”
Alex works in the welding department, fabricating parts for the likes of transport giant Bombardier and Pioneer Camper Trailers.
“We get given the parts, we get given the blueprints and, basically, we put it all together to very strict measurements – within a millimetre or two,” he said.
“We have inspectors that go over all the work that we’ve completed to make sure everything’s 100 per cent before it goes out the door.
“I always like to do the best.
“My work is – not trying to talk myself up – but usually always 100 per cent, which is how I like to work.”
He’ll wrap up his apprenticeship in June but is keen to stay put.
“Right now I want to try and get as many qualifications as I can,” he said.
“Now I’m doing night courses to get more certificates, more tickets.”
Alex has always liked to be hands-on.
“I’ve always thought of myself as a worker,” he said.
“I like to teach, so a job as a supervisor or a leading hand could be something suitable for me.”
Ms Walsh said Alex got the most out of his workplace mentors because he was easy to communicate with and passionate about his job.
“They want to help him, they have a personal investment in his success,” she said.
“Having someone who’s younger and keen, it’s great for everyone’s morale.”
She said Alex’s attitude to life also showed in his work. His brother Zachary, 18, has autism and inspired him to take on volunteer work.
“I’m always more open-minded about people with disabilities. I think of them as special – they have special talents that I could never have,” he said.
“One of my little brother’s friends is a welder and he’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen and he doesn’t let his disability hold him back, which I think is amazing and inspirational.”
