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Amy Murray originally became a self-taught mechanic so she could fix her unreliable car and make it to her shifts at a Woolworths supermarket to provide for her two sons.

Last week, the Brisbane-based trailblazer was one of the foundation cohort of 11 apprentices who officially graduated from Woolworths Group’s four-year refrigeration apprenticeship program at a celebration at the Norwest Support Offices in Sydney.

“Now, I have finished a refrigeration apprenticeship and have not just a job but a career. I have never had a career until now. Life is good!”

“I first started working in a Woolworths supermarket to pay the rent and feed my kids,” says Amy, who took out Apprentice of the Year and CSQ Outstanding Apprentice of the Year at the recent TAFE Queensland Awards.
Along with nine other graduates, Amy has accepted a full-time role with Woolworths Group, and is proud to be a role model for her boys as well as other women interested in pursuing trade careers and non-traditional career paths.
While she excels in her highly specialised field, Amy’s interest in mechanics and the motion of objects was originally born out of necessity rather than passion. A single mother to Elias, 16, and Cruz, 12, Amy had to learn how to fix her own car several years ago so she could make it to her shifts at Woolworths Banyo in northern Brisbane to support her sons.
Launched by Woolworths360 (W360) in 2020, the inaugural program was an opportunity to address the industry-wide skills shortage, introduce industry-leading technological solutions to reach our energy and environmental sustainability goals and to increase diversity and inclusion in the refrigeration industry.

“Amy has grown significantly in confidence to push herself out of her comfort zones frequently, tackling all tasks and the logistics of being a single mum to thrive in her apprenticeship,”

Caroline Fitzgerald, Apprenticeship Program Manager

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