Charlotte has grand designs on architecture career

Proud Yorta Yorta women Charlotte Murray has grand designs on a career as an architect and is already laying the foundations after securing a traineeship with Wodonga-based commercial construction company TVN On-Country.

Former Albury High School student Charlotte, 18, was one of many Indigenous young people we presented to last year on a tour of local high schools along the NSW/Victorian border.

“Darren and Jebb did a talk about On-Country Pathways and the free programs they have and it piqued my interest. I thought, that would be a cool thing to do after school,” she said.

Charlotte will complete a Certificate III in Business Administration at TAFE this year while working full time and learning about all aspects of the construction industry with the award-winning builder.

“I helped my dad design our new house which was a custom build and I really enjoyed it. I think I’d like to be an architect and this year with TVN will be a great opportunity to help figure it all out,” Charlotte explained.

Charlotte is the first person in her family to work in construction. “Working at TVN will help me to see how everything comes together,” she explained.

She’s in good company. Our employment pathways partner TVN On-Country employed their first On-Country Pathways trainee, Meagan Ablett, in 2022. Now Meagan is helping Charlotte to settle in.

Director, Jonathon Whelan, said: “We are excited to have Charlotte join the team and her eagerness and enthusiasm is clearly evident. I look forward to watching her grow as she begins her exciting career journey.”

On-Country Pathways partners with local businesses to offer four free programs to young Indigenous people in the Albury Wodonga region. We provide mentorship before, during and after each program to support participants and business owners.

Find out more about our programs here: https://on-countrypathways.com.au/programs/