Claire Miller is a "hardworking and very talented young apprentice going places in a male-dominated industry". And that's certainly not an easy thing.
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But Miss Miller's journey has been made a little bit easier thanks to the Country Education Foundation of Australia and employment and training services provider, VERTO.
An Orange agricultural apprentice, Miss Miller is the recipient of a $2000 scholarship made available to acknowledge and celebrate National Reconciliation Week, which was May 27 through to June 3.
Miss Miller, a proud young Wiradjuri woman, will benefit from the additional learning resources and required tools as she undertakes a Certificate III Agricultural Mechanical Technology apprenticeship at Ontrac Ag in Orange.
She said the scholarship has given her a great opportunity, and enabled her to focus on her job every day without any financial stress.
"It also greatly assists with costs while I'm away in Wagga Wagga at TAFE," she said.
VERTO CEO Ron Maxwell said this scholarship took the not-for-profit's total financial support of CEF to $20,000 over the past two years.
He believes Miss Miller is another thoroughly deserving recipient.
"We pride ourselves on changing lives every day, and we're really proud to have supported 10 regional youth through the CEF in the last two years," he said.
"We know there are additional challenges for rural and regional students that can lead to education and employment gaps and have a range of impacts on entire communities. The work CEF is doing to close these gaps is vital and incredibly worthy of our support."
He said Miss Miller is a "hardworking and very talented young apprentice going places in a male-dominated industry".
"So we're delighted to help support her learning journey," Mr Maxwell added.
CEF CEO Juliet Petersen said the valued support continued to make a huge difference for local students.
"CEF is excited to continue our partnership with VERTO and to provide financial relief to regional students undertaking apprenticeships, traineeships and vocational training," Ms Petersen said.
"For CEF, working with VERTO is a great step forward in promoting all types of post-school education, and as an organisation that services rural and regional Australia, we recognise the importance of acknowledging wonderful young people like Claire in fostering and promoting the aspirations and educational success of Indigenous youth across the communities in which we operate."
Country Education Foundation is primarily run by volunteers, harnessing the power of local communities to change lives by providing further education, training and career opportunities. To find out more about the foundation, donate or get involved, visit www.cef.org.au.
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