State Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin has congratulated four apprentices from her electorate on being among 225 recipients of the 2025 Bert Evans Apprentice Scholarships.

One of the four was Hamish Webster, 36, of Nimbin, who is one year into a carpentry apprenticeship with Dunoon-based James Irving Carpentry and Building. He attends Wollongbar TAFE.

Hamish's name may be familiar to Lismore App readers. In June 2024, we ran a story about Hamish relocating his 100-year-old North Lismore house to Nimbin subdivision after receiving a buyback for his flood-impacted cottage. You can read the story here.

Ms Saffin said each apprentice will receive up to $15,000 in support over three years, helping to reduce financial pressures, buy essential tools and equipment, and stay on track with their training.

“These scholarships, named in honour of the late Bert Evans AO, continue his legacy of championing practical training and opportunity for all, and recognise our apprentices’ exceptional dedication to their chosen trades,” Ms Saffin said.

“I’m particularly pleased that 109 recipients are from regional New South Wales, reflecting the Minns and Albanese Labor governments’ shared commitment to developing skills in regional communities.”

The Northern Rivers recipients include:

• Hamish Webster, 36, of Nimbin, who is one year into a carpentry apprenticeship with Dunoon-based James Irving Carpentry and Building. The mature-age apprentice attended Woodlawn College before working as an outdoor educator, cabinet maker, arborist, and nurseryman. He attends Wollongbar TAFE. Hamish also accepted a buyback offer for his flood-impacted North Lismore cottage and has relocated it to a subdivision in Nimbin. He says five other neighbours did the same.
• Chris King, 31, of Tyalgah, was a food and beverage manager in the hospitality industry before taking up an electrical apprenticeship with Jayden Patterson’s Tweed River Electrical. Originally from Manchester, Chris is loving working four days a week and studying a day a week at Wollongbar TAFE. He and his partner Sadie are expecting their first child in July.
• Andrew Duke, 26, of Tyalgum, was a warehouse manager in Murwillumbah before getting his start with Frizelle Sunshine Mazda at Tweed Heads South as a car washer for six months. Andrew moved up to the workshop and is now 18 months into a Certificate 3 Light Automotive Technology course. His scholarship helped him buy tools and extra storage for them.
• Jack Evans, 19, of Murwillumbah, attended Murwillumbah High School and is Andrew’s buddy in the same course at Kingscliff TAFE. Jack has honed his practical skills in Victory Auto World’s Tweed Heads South mechanical workshop for the past year. Before that, he took a gap year, installing garage doors for a Murwillumbah company. While at school, he completed a Certificate 2 in Electrotechnology.