Another "part of the iceberg"…

I indicated the other day that there was a lot more going on behind the scenes which we weren’t making public yet…
It occurred to me afterwards that some people might have thought I was having another baby.
Nope nope nope, if that was you then sorry, that’s definitely not it! 🙂

But on Wednesday this new long awaited “baby” arrived in the mail…

Since April Neil has been plugging away doing the final part of his Electrical Apprenticeship – completing his last Tafe (university study), finishing off & submitting all his log books for the last 3 years, sitting his final exams, filling out copious amounts of paperwork and finally waiting ever so (un) patiently for this one piece of paper to arrive symbolising the finish of all his hard work.
{oh wait – the un part was probably just me… 😉 }

Well, it has finally arrived and
I am sooooo proud of him!…

Not only has he crammed it all in and finished his apprenticeship 6 months earlier than the standard term, but in the process he also won top apprentice for his college 2 years running (it quite probably would have been a third but he wasn’t eligible for the third year).

His company has also nominated him to be put forward for the “NECA State & National award for 4th year & recently finished apprentices.” He has already made it through the state level to interview level for the National Award.

In a move to totally embarrass him, here is an excerpt from one of his glowing references towards the award…

That is from the training manager of his company (who probably oversees in excess of 100 apprentices at any one time). As Neil works for such a huge company it really is a testament to how well he has shone.

So yes, I am very very proud.
Neil is an extremely hard worker and I’m so thrilled for him that he is having his achievements and hard work recognised!

Of course I have wanted to share the whole process with you along the way.
But I did not feel like it was my process to share.
And I especially did not want to add any pressure to Neil because he was already under a lot of “self pressure” by taking his exams so early.

The journey to this point has been hard work for both of us.
For him because he has been studying so much in a short space of time.
For me, because he has been away or “absent” (meaning home but still working if you know what I mean) the majority of the time, leaving me unable to take a break like I normally would when he has his weeks off at home.
But we are there now at the finish line and I have to say that it feels great!

He still has one more unit of Tafe to do in October, for a separate trade ticket (Instrumentation), but otherwise we are at the finish line with a world of opportunities at our feet.

Where to now? – Well that’s the other part of the ice berg.
Quite a large part at that!
One thing is for certain, it will no longer include him away on a 4 week away, 1 week home roster,
but otherwise I have no idea.
I’ll share the answer with you once I know it,
But don’t hold your breath because I think it might be a while…