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Math graduate-turned-carpenter, Ellie Farrington, has been named top apprentice of the year for the Darling Downs South West region at the regional Queensland Training Awards.

Ellie was awarded the CSQ-sponsored Harry Hauenschild Apprentice of the Year award in Toowoomba over the weekend.

CSQ industry engagement manager Tony Martin was delighted to present Ellie with the award, having met her as a Trade-Start (workplace learning) participant four years ago.

“One thing’s for certain – if this young lady sets her mind to something, then there’s no stopping her,” Tony said.

“Ellie was placed with award winning local builder Valdal Project and quickly showed an aptitude and enthusiasm for the work.”

“Owner Stuart Valdal was so impressed with Ellie’s efforts that when she graduated from Trade-Start, it was an easy decision to offer her a full-time apprenticeship.”

Ellie started out studying architecture at university but felt that she was learning about design without any knowledge of construction.

After switching to and completing a Bachelor of Mathematics, Ellie sought out the carpentry apprenticeship and hasn’t looked back on her journey to provide her clients with a seamless process from initial design to final building handover.

Ellie will now join the winners from six other regional Queensland Training Awards to become finalists in the state Queensland Training Awards with winners announced at a gala ceremony in September.

Interested in making a career change or getting started in construction? Read more about Trade Start here.