By Lachlan Ellis<\/p>\n
A local apprentice has won a state honour for his work at a Moorabool business, and says the award came as a shock.<\/p>\n
Twenty-year-old Darcy Lachner-Marion from Greendale has won this year\u2019s Australian Glass and Windows Association (AGWA) Victorian Apprenticeship Award \u2013 Commercial, for his work at Ballan\u2019s Paarhammer Windows & Doors.<\/p>\n
The award was delivered personally by AGWA CEO Clinton Skeoch, who paid a surprise visit to the Ballan factory from the Association\u2019s headquarters in Sydney.<\/p>\n
Mr Lachner-Marion thanked AGWA and the team at Paarhammer Windows & Doors, and says he loves his job.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was a bit surprised, I didn\u2019t even know he [Clinton Skeoch] was coming. He rocked up and I thought \u2018who\u2019s this guy?\u2019 and he pulled out the award and handed it to me. I wasn\u2019t expecting it at all, I sort of just go to work and do my job, so to win an award is pretty big,\u201d he told the Moorabool News.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been an apprentice here two and a half years. The work\u2019s awesome, every day there\u2019s something different. I get to work on some really cool projects, a lot of circles and arches and angled windows, they\u2019re really cool to make. It\u2019s awesome coming from raw timber down to this beautiful, finished product.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Lachner-Marion is undergoing a four-year apprenticeship, and said that while he was originally meant to finish in September next year, at the rate he\u2019s advancing he could finish in February instead.<\/p>\n
As for the future, he hopes to stick around at Paarhammer Windows & Doors and show new apprentices the ropes just as he learned.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment I\u2019ve been moving into a more managing position and sort of starting to run things, and work more independently, and start helping others. It\u2019d be good to stay here and move up a bit more, maybe take over from my boss and he can go into the office,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d like to give a big thanks to Tony, Edith, and Thomas Paarhammer for giving me the job and the opportunity to start doing well. And especially my supervisor Mat Thorne, he\u2019s taught me everything\u2026I wouldn\u2019t be where I am without his guidance and help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paarhammer Windows & Doors manufacture high performance windows and doors for energy efficiency and bushfire safety, and their products get delivered Australia-wide for residential and commercial projects. As an industry leader in regional Victoria, the company has always been committed to training and apprenticeships with more than 50 tradespeople qualified since its inception in 1990.<\/p>\n
The company currently has a vacancy for a self-motivated person with good maths skills for an apprenticeship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Lachlan Ellis A local apprentice has won a state honour for his work at a Moorabool business, and says the award came as a shock. Twenty-year-old Darcy Lachner-Marion from Greendale has won this year\u2019s Australian Glass and Windows Association (AGWA) Victorian Apprenticeship Award \u2013 Commercial, for his work at Ballan\u2019s Paarhammer Windows & Doors. […]<\/p>\n