EVERY three weeks apprentice plumber Ben Newsome drives 250 kilometres from Mudgee to Orange for two days of study at TAFE Western in March Street.
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Mr Newsome stays one or two nights in Orange each time he attends the two-day certificate III in plumbing course, leaving his young family behind in Mudgee.
However, to help him along he was recently announced as one of 25 recipients of a $1000 2015 Rheem Apprentice Plumber Grant, which will help him pay for his tools and travel costs.
Rheem Australia CEO Matt Sexton said the grants were to encourage young workers starting out and people attempting to restart their careers.
Mr Newsome, 34, is among the mature students looking to start a new career and is finishing his first year of the four-year course this week.
The father of two young boys said taking up plumbing was a lifestyle choice and would enable him to spend more time with his sons as they grow up.
Previously he worked in the mining sector but finished last year and said the new career would give him more stability and better working hours.
“My brother-in-law enrolled in it [the plumbing course], I had family involvement in it and interest in the trade,” Mr Newsome said.
“It’s been great, really enjoyable with a great bunch of blokes at Rapid Plumbing and Gas in Mudgee.
“They’ve made it easier for me being an older guy.”
Mr Newsome said he was working at the business as a machinery operator when he decided to get the accreditation to become a domestic and commercial plumber.
“It was a lifestyle choice, and I thought if I’m going to be around in the trade I might as well get a qualification out of it,” he said.
tanya.marschke@fairfaxmedia.com.au