Bright spark tops the state

Oyster Bay resident, Frank Maron has proved he's among the most skilled graduates in NSW, winning a TAFE NSW State Medal for graduating top of his course, Certificate III in Industrial Electronics, in 2006.

Maron was among the 48 graduates from TAFE NSW " Sydney Institute to win TAFE NSW's most prestigious award, which is presented annually to students graduating with the highest average mark in the state. He completed his course last year at Sydney Institute's St George College.

After 14 years working in the electronics industry, Maron said he gained skills and knowledge from his training program that he hadn't learnt on the job.

"I would recommend TAFE to anyone. Even if you have been in an industry for 20 or 30 years, at TAFE you will still pick up a lot of things that you never knew about," Maron said.

"My course was quite comprehensive and we were taught how to understand machinery and how it works in full. Because of my course, I'm now able to walk onto a job site and if there is a problem I know everything about that type of device and how to fix it."

Having worked hard at his studies, Maron said he felt a great sense of achievement and gratification on winning a State Medal.

"Winning the State Medal made me feel good; it was nice to know that TAFE took notice of me. You don't always get a lot of recognition in the workplace, so it's good to be rewarded for your hard work.

"In the future I would like to keep studying; I am currently completing the Diploma of Electrical Engineering."

The 48 winning students were presented their awards by Deputy Director-General of TAFE and Community Education, Marie Persson at an awards night at Ultimo College.