At age 28, Tevita Supilani Ma’ilei (Supi) found himself at a cross roads. Newly married with a young baby, he decided that his job as a heavy truck operator would not provide a secure future for his family. He felt he had two choices - go back to university and finish the last year of his accounting and law degree, or become a qualified tradesman.
Qualification: Certificate III in Carpentry
Host Employer: BAL Building Pty Ltd
Training provider: Canberra Institute of Technology
Group Training Organisation: Australian Training Company
At age 28, Tevita Supilani Ma’ilei (Supi) found himself at a cross roads. Newly married with a young baby, he decided that his job as a heavy truck operator would not provide a secure future for his family. He felt he had two choices - go back to university and finish the last year of his accounting and law degree, or become a qualified tradesman.
Fast forward four years and Supi is now a qualified carpenter. With the support of the Australian Training Company, BAL Building and the Canberra Institute of Technology, Supi excelled in his Australian Apprenticeship.
Supi showed such high leadership skills and technical capability during his Australian Apprenticeship that he was tasked with project managing the re-build of the Director’s Residence (formerly known as Observatory House) located at Canberra’s iconic Mount Stromlo Observatory – a project which would normally be reserved for fully qualified tradesmen.
A credit to his achievements, Supi’s host employer, BAL Building has now employed him as permanent employee. In the future, he hopes to start his own business and build housing for people in difficult situations.