In Summary

  • Swinburne apprentices recognised at 2016 Plumbing and Fire Industry Awards
  • Calan Haydon awarded Master Plumber Gold Medal Award
  • Amy Kosterman and Jarad Gstrein also won awards


 

Swinburne plumbing students have been recognised for their hard work at the 2016 Plumbing and Fire Industry Awards.

Fourth year plumbing apprentice Calan Haydon, who is currently completing his Certificate IV in Plumbing and Services, took out the overall award, the Master Plumber Gold Medal Award.

Mr Haydon was also awarded the Frank Maskell General Plumbing Award, which recognises a fourth year apprentice who has excelled in areas including sanitation, drainage and roofing. Mr Haydon was recognised for his strong commitment to off-the-job studies.

“It means a lot to win these two awards. They are held in high esteem throughout the industry and reward hard work,” Mr Haydon says.

Mr Haydon says his training at Swinburne has been enjoyable because of the quality of the teachers.

“The facilities in the Plumbing Barn at the Croydon campus are great, but it’s the standard of teaching that makes the difference.

“Many of the teachers at Swinburne are still on the tools, are passionate about plumbing and want to pass on the knowledge to the next generation of plumbers.”

An aerial shot of trades students at work in the plumbing barn at the hawthorn campus
The Plumbing Barn at Swinburne's Croydon campus

More success for Swinburne apprentices

Amy Kosterman was awarded the Rose Curtis Award, which recognises an outstanding female apprentice.

Jarad Gstrein was awarded the NA Smith Gas Award, which recognises a fourth year apprentice who has excelled in gas studies.

Swinburne also had two other finalists in the awards, Simon Lording and William Heaven.

The winners all received $1,000 to put towards furthering their plumbing careers.

Plumbing and Fire Industry Awards

The Plumbing and Fire Industry Awards is a joint initiative driven by key industry stakeholders Master Plumbers, National Fire Industry Association (NFIA), Plumbing Industry Climate Action Centre (PICAC) and Plumbing Trades Employees Union (PTEU).

They aim to bring together the plumbing and fire industries to recognise excellence in the training and development achievements of individuals in the plumbing and fire industries.