Scholarship helps carpentry student in ongoing struggle to rebuild flood-damaged home

NIMBIN resident Hamish Webster has been rebuilding his flood-damaged home while completing a carpentry apprenticeship, with support from the Bert Evans Apprentice Scholarship.

Webster, who is in his 30s, is completing a Certificate III in Carpentry while working with JIC&B, balancing a mortgage, rebuilding his home and living on an apprentice wage.

The Bert Evans Apprentice Scholarships support first-year apprentices experiencing hardship. Worth $5,000 a year for up to three years, they help cover tools, learning resources, additional training and other education-related expenses.

For Webster, the scholarship comes after years of rebuilding his life following the devastating 2022 flood.

After his home was inundated, he made the difficult decision to relocate it out of the floodplain to reduce the risk of future flooding.

“I lost almost all my possessions and tools, and my home sustained major damage. Following the flood, I suffered from a nervous breakdown because of the natural disaster,” he said.

“I often feel overwhelmed, physically exhausted, socially isolated and depressed. These factors greatly affect my motivation and drive to continue with the demands of my training.

“The combined weight of responsibilities to my apprenticeship, study, mortgage repayments and repairing my house have constantly been affecting my mental health.”

Webster said the financial pressures of being a mature-age apprentice were significant.

“As a mature-age apprentice, I have a far greater financial burden than younger apprentices,” he said.

“After mortgage repayments, weekly groceries and fuel, little is left for saving for new tools and equipment.

“The financial burden of completing the repairs to my home combined with my limited income often has me contemplating giving up on my dream of becoming a builder and finding alternative employment.

“The funding provided through the Bert Evans Scholarship has been invaluable to me in helping me purchase the last of the tools and materials needed to complete the repairs to my home.”

For more information about the Bert Evans Apprentice Scholarships, visit the NSW Department of Education website.