Ventia fourth year mechanical apprentice Eddie Clarke is no stranger to awards, having picked up two in 2020 for his contributions to our organisation and the wider community. 

At the recent Darwin NAIDOC Ball and Awards evening in the Northern Territory, Eddie once again took the stage to accept the award for Apprentice of the Year. 

Eddie said these awards are a great recognition of being part of an incredible Indigenous culture that is thousands of years old.

"I am proud of my Aboriginal culture," Eddie says.

And I'm appreciative of the support that I've had from Ventia and the TRACE team throughout my journey as an apprentice.

As part of the TRACE joint venture, our people deliver maintenance services to one of the world's most significant energy developments, INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG.

The Darwin element of the contract is operated entirely by locally employed people and is the Northern Territory's highest employer of apprentices with 17 people currently undertaking mechanical and electrical apprenticeships.

Eddie applied for a role with TRACE back in January 2017. Shortly after Eddie accepted the job, Deputy Project Manager Byron Davis from Ventia's Indigenous employment team TRECCA reached out to welcome him.

Byron says Eddie is completing his Certificate III in Mechanical Engineering at Charles Darwin University while he works for us and has clearly shown his commitment to both his training and the work he's doing.  

Byron was in Darwin for the awards night and was excited to see Eddie accept his award.

"The NAIDOC Awards was an evening of great connections with the local Indigenous and non-Indigenous community, with an amazing array of entertainment and networking," Byron says.

The awards recognised outstanding Indigenous Australians in the Top End, who have achieved some amazing things.

"It was great to be there and congratulate Eddie on his award."

The annual NAIDOC Awards recognise the outstanding contributions that Indigenous Australians make to improve the lives of those in their communities and beyond, or to promote Indigenous issues in the wider community, or the excellence they've shown in their chosen field.

These Awards celebrate excellence, builds towards a better future and reminds us of this nation's 65,000-year-old history.
 

^{Top image: Eddie Clarke and Byron Davis at the Darwin NAIDOC Ball and Awards evening in the Northern Territory}

Learn more about our approach to Indigenous participation here.