Chisholm Institute – The Training and Further Education People
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Media Release
Date 15th October 2010
For immediate release
Kelly has drive to succeed
Kelly Byford is making a difference.
The 26-year old has won the inaugural Woman at Work award, presented by Manufacturing
Skills Australia to women achieving outstanding success in the manufacturing and automotive
industries.
“Absolutely taken aback,” is how Kelly describes her response to the win.
“I met the other two finalists in the hotel and we all got on really well, so we were half-joking
with each other that none of us wanted to win it!”
In the event, the judges decided that the award would go to all three finalists jointly.
Each woman received $5,000 towards a course of study of their choice.
Knoxfield resident Kelly qualified as an automotive mechanic in June this year, completing her
Certificate III apprenticeship in Light Vehicle Mechanics at Chisholm Dandenong.
She credits her employer – LINK Employment and Training – and host – Doncaster BMW –
for nominating her for the Women at Work award.
“BMW has been very supportive and LINK has been awesome,” she said.
Awards are nothing new for Kelly. She was BMW’s Outstanding Employee of the Year in
2008, Chisholm’s 2009 Outstanding Apprentice of the Year and
a successful candidate for
the Today’s Skills Tomorrow’s Leaders 2009 program.
Kelly’s fascination with cars started at an early age, but it was seeing her mum get ripped off
by small workshops when getting the family car repaired that inspired her great passion.
“I want to set-up a workshop where women can trust the advice and service they are getting
when getting their cars fixed,” she says.
Unsurprisingly, the future looks busy for Kelly.
“I want to use my Award to go back to Chisholm and do a Certificate IV in Small Business
Management in 2011,” she says, “The award also presented me with the opportunity to set up
an industry network with my fellow winners to encourage and support women to get into or
stay in male-dominated industries, and I look forward to that.”
Chisholm Institute – The Training and Further Education People
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Nat Tunbridge
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Marketing and Corporate Communication
Chisholm Institute
Ph: 9238 8307
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