When Oscar Cherry cleaned up at this year's Master Builders Victoria Awards, the prizes were his to keep. Instead, the 19-year-old carpenter from Ballarat turned his moment into a leg-up for three other young tradies coming up through the ranks.
Cherry took home two awards — Regional Apprentice of the Year (Junior Apprentice) and MBV Apprentice of the Year (Junior Trades) — along with two tool packs worth about $2,000 and an $800 clothing voucher. Rather than pocket the haul, he split it between apprentices nominated by training providers across the state, even throwing in some of his own hand tools to round out the packs.
His reason was simple and heartfelt. "I understand how tough it can be for many young apprentices," he said, explaining that the support he'd received from family, friends and trainers was something he wanted to pass on to others who might not have the same backing.
And this wasn't an abstract gesture — it had names attached. The first tool pack was presented in Ballarat to Shannon Griffiths, a carpentry apprentice with Pyrenees Building Group. The second went to Breanna McLure, a third-year landscape construction apprentice from Box Hill Institute. And Rivali Brown, studying a Certificate III in Painting and Decorating at Holmesglen, received the $800 workwear voucher. Three apprentices, three trades, three careers given a little more room to breathe.
That head start matters more than it might sound. Master Builders Victoria points out that apprentices typically earn between $640 and $1,100 a week — well below the roughly $1,300 an average entry-level worker takes home — while rents, groceries, fuel and the cost of tools keep climbing. For some, it simply becomes unaffordable to keep going, and promising young people walk away from the trade before they ever qualify.
Dr Corrie Williams, the organisation's chief of public affairs, said she was deeply moved by Cherry's generosity, calling it a reflection of the values that hold the building industry together. His willingness to lift up emerging talent, she said, helps shape a more connected and resilient sector for the future.
Master Builders is pushing for bigger structural fixes too — expanded school-based apprenticeships, clearer trade pathways for students, and a HELP-style loan scheme to support mature-age apprentices making the switch into trades.
But for now, three young tradies have their tools, their gear, and proof that someone in the industry has their back.