LIKE many other students, Millthorpe student Alex Collins was unsure about what the future would hold after finishing his HSC last year.
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He'd always wanted to be a chef but wasn't quite sure how to get a start in the cooking world.
Now thanks to a joint effort by Blayney High School and a large company, Alex is cooking up a storm as an apprentice chef.
The 17-year-old arrived for his first day on the job at the Blayney's temporary miners village last Monday.
There he will help prepare several meals each day for the 180 workers that sleep and eat at the facility.
"A teacher told me about this opportunity and before Christmas I applied for it," Alex said.
"I think it's the best opportunity I could have gotten."
The apprenticeship is being offered by ESS, the global company that manages the miners village.
The local site manager for ESS, John Cooper, said the company worked with Blayney High school to find Alex a position in the kitchen.
"We put word out to the school that we were looking for an apprentice and it all came together from there," Mr Cooper said.
"It's the only commercial kitchen this side of Orange so Alex will have the opportunity to learn a lot and he'll work under a trained chef.
"He starts TAFE next month, where he'll work on the theoretical aspects of the apprenticeship."
Mr Cooper said a number of local residents are already employed by ESS to help run the village, but Alex is the first Millthorpe resident to join the team.
"He's doing great and we're very happy that we're able to give local people local jobs," he said.
