Attitude Key To Asher's Career Rise
Illawarra Mercury
Tuesday December 2, 1997
The main beneficiary of Asher Thomas' Apprentice of the Year award is parked on the front lawn of his Bellambi home.
Asher's pride and joy is a black 1964 EH Holden complete with wide wheels and gleaming exhaust pipe.
The $3000 prize money, presented by the Metal Trades Industry Association on November 14, will go towards some new wheels and a paint job.
The bonanza for the EH is a direct result of something Asher seems to have in spades: an excellent attitude.
Asher's attitude comes up immediately in conversation with his head teacher in the metal fabrication and welding section at Wollongong TAFE, John Maffullo: "Asher stands out head and shoulders because of his general attitude. He gets on well with the teaching staff, support staff and peers."
Asher's immediate supervisor at the Wollongong City Council depot, Col Mitchell, agrees.
"He's an excellent worker, but the outstanding thing about Asher is his attitude.
"He has good values about life, which I know he gets from his parents and his upbringing."
Inside the neat-as-a-pin Thomas family home in Bellambi, Asher explains that his dad Philip, who is lurking in the kitchen, always wanted him to get a trade.
"Dad was a truck driver, he never got a trade himself," says Asher.
"We were migrants, we came out from Wales in 1966, looking for a better life," says his mum, Hilary, serving a mug of tea on a doily.
"We worked hard, and now all four of our boys have good jobs."
She glances up at a big black and white photograph on the wall, of four strapping lads in jeans and bare chests.
Asher, like his brothers, loves sport and the outdoors. He's into scuba diving, bush walking, golf, squash and fun runs.
"We encouraged them to do their best, whatever it was," Philip calls out from the kitchen.
Asher went straight into his apprenticeship at Wollongong City Council after finishing Year 11.
"I couldn't bear the thought of working in an office," he says. "I knew I'd be good at doing something practical."
While the classic boilermaker literally made boilers, these days the trade is about all forms of metal welding and fabrication.
Says Asher: "I started out on small projects while I gradually built up my skills.
"I've made parts of trucks, trailers, bridges and handrails."
Hilary says: "It's not the glamour job!"
After the apprenticeship finishes in February, Asher intends to continue studying.
He would like to get a diploma or a degree.
Eventually, he would like to move into structural engineering.
What's the key to success? Asher says: "You need a practical background, you need to be prepared to put in a lot of study and effort to get where you want, and people around you who will support you in achieving those goals."
As we leave the house, there's a hint of something deeper below the surface of this straightforward, practical young man.
Stopping for another look at the EH, Asher points out the word "eternity" emblazoned across the top of the back windscreen.
"It's something I've never been able to comprehend," he says.
"I put that word there to make me stop and think about it."
© 1997 Illawarra Mercury