Joshua Coulson – Impacting the Community in a Positive Way

Joshua Coulson, a third-year horticultural parks and gardens apprentice with WPC Group, is making a positive impact in his community.

Coulson's Aboriginal heritage is Palawa, from Evandale in Tasmania, and he was a finalist for the Indigenous Student of the Year award at the 2019 Apprentice Employer Network (AEN) awards event held at the Victorian Parliament House. In a recent interview, Coulson shared his insights and experiences as an apprentice.

Initially, Coulson was interested in the dairy industry, but he changed his career pathway due to the industry's decline. While still in school, he completed his Certificate II in Horticulture and enjoyed it, so he decided to pursue it as his career.

Coulson found the apprenticeship pathway a learning experience and gained knowledge of plants, irrigation setups, and equipment. He often shares his own ideas and ways of doing things, bringing his problem-solving skills to the workplace. He faced challenges in the irrigation programs and contractor safety issues but overcame them through initiative and courage.

Coulson is part of a wider team that travels and completes tasks and projects together. He finds that teamwork allows him to work better, and he contributes to the team culture by being positive, approachable, and respectful. Coulson has also shown leadership at work, especially when teaching contractors the team's particular ways of doing things.

Coulson's Aboriginal heritage has influenced his work and involvement in the community. He helped run various NAIDOC week events around the Geelong area and coordinated the raising of the Zags ceremony. Coulson was a recipient of the VicRoads Indigenous Youth Scholarship and now mentors young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in high school, showing them the positive outcomes they can achieve with hard work. He aims to continue helping his mum close the health gap and participate in NAIDOC Week ceremonies and activities.