A talented Highlands apprentice plumber was this week honoured with a special TAFE NSW scholarship, using his platform to urge other young locals to consider a career in the booming industry.
Archie Wilkinson, 20, a fourth-year apprentice with Graeme Isedale Plumbing, is the latest recipient of the Craig Walker Scholarship, named in honour of the late pioneering TAFE NSW plumbing teacher.
Mr Wilkinson received the award, and a $2500 cash prize, during a special World Plumbing Day event at TAFE NSW Wollongong on Wednesday, 11 March.
TAFE NSW Wollongong hosted close to 100 plumbing apprentices and a number of industry participants at Wednesday’s event, featuring trade stalls, demonstrations and a statewide TAFE NSW plumbing section video hook-up.
World Plumbing Day is celebrated annually on 11 March to recognise the critical role plumbing plays in public health, sanitation and overall quality of life.
For Mr Wilkinson, who has been selected in the Australian training squad for September’s Worldskills International in Shanghai – often described as the ‘skills Olympics’ for trades and technical professions – it was also an opportunity to share his passion for plumbing.
“It’s a great feeling to be acknowledged with this scholarship and to have my efforts recognised,” he said.
“I’d just encourage any young person looking to get into a trade to consider plumbing. There’s so much variety and there are so many pathways you can take to progress your career.”
He paid tribute to his TAFE NSW teacher Ethan Fisher, who he described as a mentor.
Plumbing remains on the National Skills Shortage list, with the Master Plumbers Association declaring there was a “critical shortage” of skilled plumbers in NSW, particularly in regional areas.
The Craig Walker Scholarship is named after long-time TAFE NSW teacher Craig Walker, who died in 2023 – aged 53 – after spending more than a quarter of a century training plumbing students in the Illawarra and on the South Coast.
TAFE NSW teacher Mr Fisher, who was trained by Mr Walker as an apprentice,
“Craig was a great ambassador for plumbing. Not only did he train a generation of young plumbers, but he was a Worldskills coach and advocated strongly for students who were disadvantaged,” Mr Fisher said.
“It’s fitting that such a prestigious award be named in his honour and Archie is a very deserving recipient.”
