PALMWOODS PRODUCES TOP APPRENTICES
Bruce is a bright sparky

PALMWOODS Electrical’s Bruce Sherwell has taken out an excellence award for outstanding achievement in his final year as an apprentice.

Bruce, 27, topped an impressive list of apprentices to win the Rob Pervice Further Training Award and Bursary- one of two major prizes offered to apprentices.

Bruce said he would use the bursary to further his studies in the field of telecommunications.

"I want to put it towards getting an Austel licence, so we can look after phones and telecommunications," Bruce said.

"Telecommunications is becoming a big field because people are using faxes and modems and often need a second phone line. These days it pays to be multi-skilled."

Bruce is currently completing his fourth and final year as an apprentice, and has won an achievement award each year of his apprenticeship.

"Some people find it a bit strange that I’m an adult apprentice, but I think it has helped me more than anything," he said. "Learning as an adult is the best way to learn."

Electronics has been a major career change for Bruce, who originally planned to become a teacher and was studying at the Kelvin Grove Teachers College.

"One day I was out the back of Palmwoods and the next I was in Red Hill near the Normanby Five Ways - it was a bit of a culture shock to say the least," he said. "But I decided that becoming an apprentice was more financially viable and would open up more options for me.

"When you’re finished you always have the possibility of opening your own business and becoming your own boss," he said.