Georgia Baxter
SuniTAFE’s Agricultural Mechanical Technology graduate Georgia Baxter first began working in her industry during what was originally planned to be a gap year.
Two apprenticeships and several years later, she’s still paving a path for herself in her industry, being recognised for her skills as a finalist for Apprentice of the Year at the 2026 Victorian Training Awards.
Recognition on a state level is not something Georgia ever expected to come from her time training at SuniTAFE.
“It’s very exciting to be a finalist and I feel very privileged to be put up for the award,” she said.
“I was a bit shocked when it was first announced, I wasn’t really expecting it, but it’s been a nice journey. This is something completely different to what I’ve ever done before so just experiencing something new like attending the awards night is exciting.”
Completing an apprenticeship wasn’t always the goal for Georgia, but it’s a passion she has discovered.
“Most of my peers chose nursing courses, and I was accepted into nursing too after year 12, but it didn’t feel right for me, so I took a gap year to work in forest fire management,” she said.
“During that job, I decided I wanted to learn how to fix dozers just in case I ever got stuck on a fire line, which then led me to my decision to become an agricultural mechanic.
“I’m really grateful that I took that year off and found what I’m passionate about.”
Georgia graduated from her apprenticeship in Agricultural Mechanical Technology in 2025, and has returned to campus this year to pick up a dual qualification in Automotive Electrical Technology.
“I chose to complete a second qualification to broaden my skillset and my knowledge, because electrics are fairly common in our day-to-day activities now,” she said.
“The electrical aspects of farm machinery are only going to become more common and complex so my second qualification is helping me to better understand how things work in our machines, and I can bring anything I learn back to my workplace.”
As she approaches the end of her training, Georgia is grateful for the opportunities she has been given at SuniTAFE.
“The facilities here are really great, so it was fairly easy to want to come back a second time,” she said.
“There’s a broad range of things to work on at SuniTAFE so it’s a good chance to get your head around working on a truck, tractor, a car, and the teachers all have varied experiences so you get a lot of different insights from their teaching.”
Ultimately, Georgia is excited that her work can make a difference to the people in her community.
“Farming is such a massive part of our community, so being able to do my part to keep farmers going is a nice feeling,” she said.
“Having healthy crops and being able to spray is such a vital part of agriculture, so being able to help out farmers when they need it is so rewarding.”
Georgia will attend the Victorian Training Awards gala on Friday 18 September 2026, where her story will be shared with other high achieving TAFE students from across the state.