The program is a partnership between EnergyAustralia, Skillset (representing Thales Group) and HVTC (representing Centennial) to upskill first-year apprentices and give them an understanding of several trade skills areas.

"The apprentices have learnt a broad range of hands-on skills, not just in their chosen field of study but across electrical, fitting and machining, welding and fabrication industries," Fitting and Machining Teacher Ron Hawkins said.

"This makes them more versatile as employees and gives them a taste of the different trades to help them decide in which direction they would like to specialise in the future."

Thales Group Business Improvement Manager David Forbes said when the company wanted to upskill its young employees, they turned to TAFE NSW to deliver high-quality, customised training.

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"The Lithgow Skills Centre program has been incredibly valuable as it enables our apprentices to progress a lot quicker and mature earlier. That in turn helps to increase the organisation's productivity," Mr Forbes said.

"The apprentices also develop important skills such as teamwork, communication, presentation, budgeting and developing spreadsheets which aren't covered as part of their trade."

Skillset's Ben Ruddy said his organisation was thrilled to work with TAFE NSW and Thales Group to offer additional training to apprentices.

"The TAFE NSW training gives these apprentices a series of further micro-credentials, in addition to their trade qualification, which are highly regarded within industry across NSW," Mr Ruddy said.

"The program has boosted the apprentices' confidence and cemented those additional trade skills, which will give them the head start they need to be competitive and have successful careers in the future."

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