Workco representatives and host employer Wally Boyd of Boyd's Body Works, attended the awards night with Patrick, who is undertaking Certificate III in Automotive Vehicle Body, in the area of panel beating.

Patrick grew up in Ararat and attended Marian College.

He started his apprenticeship through Workco Limited in October 2006 and has been hosted by Boyd's Body Works since October 2007. Patrick has always had a love for working on cars and said this stems from the days when his dad owned a panel beating workshop in Stawell.

Patrick's host employers are extremely pleased with his on the job performance and said he is very dedicated to the job.

In terms of his technical ability Patrick is well skilled in his trade and is able to do all the jobs asked of him, including fitting welded panels to large repairs and spray painting.

Trade school reports also commend Patrick.

Patrick received recognition of his ability in winning the best first year apprentice award at the Geelong Regional Training Awards earlier this year.

He enjoys learning the modern techniques of his trade to take back to the workplace and the satisfaction he gets from completing tasks to a high standard and seeing customers happy after the repair work has been completed.

Patrick said his apprenticeship has been a fantastic opportunity and he has learnt more than he thought he ever would, and while the trade was not as easy as he first thought, he is thoroughly enjoying every day.