From first apprentice to business owner: Brendan’s journey 40 years on

As Skillinvest celebrates 40 years of building futures, we are looking back at the people and opportunities that have shaped our story. That story began in 1986 with Brendan Kaczynski, the very first apprentice employed through Wimmera & Grampians Group Training Company, now Skillinvest.

At just 16 years old, Brendan was working part-time in the kitchen at the Ararat Colonial Lodge Motel when the business decided to employ an apprentice chef through Wimmera & Grampians Group Training Company. It was Brendan’s first full-time job and the beginning of a career journey that would eventually take him across Australia and into business ownership.

“It was a significant time in my life, as I left school and this was my first full-time employment,” Brendan said.

“I didn’t know it at the time, but in the end it set me on the pathway to operating my own business.”

A newspaper clipping from 1986 featuring Brendan (right) with host employer Jill McLellend from Ararat Colonial Lodge and John Ackland, Wimmera & Grampians Group Training Company (now Skillinvest).

Learning through experience

Like many young people entering the workforce, Brendan did not have a long-term career plan. His focus was on the opportunity in front of him and learning as much as he could.

Through Wimmera & Grampians Group Training Company, Brendan completed parts of his apprenticeship at several workplaces. This gave him experience across a range of restaurants and hotels, while learning from the people who owned and operated them.

Working within private businesses also helped Brendan understand the commitment involved in making a business successful.

“The people who owned these restaurants and hotels had sacrificed a lot, so we really did whatever we could to ensure the business was successful,” he said.

“I think that was a good starting point to have a good work ethic.”

Completing his apprenticeship was an important milestone. As a fully qualified chef, Brendan had the skills and experience to pursue opportunities across the hospitality industry.

He went on to work in several hotels in Ararat before becoming Head Chef at Ararat Hospital in 1994, a position he held for six years.

A new direction

In 2000, Brendan’s career moved in an unexpected direction when he joined Kingston’s Coach Tours in Stawell as a Safari Cook.

Travelling throughout Australia, Brendan worked from a safari kitchen towed behind the coach. The kitchen was set up at each accommodation stop, allowing Brendan and the team to provide three meals a day for passengers.

As well as overseeing other Safari Cooks, Brendan was responsible for menu planning and food ordering. Over time, he also became involved in the wider operation of the tour company, learning how tours were planned and booked.

The role sparked his interest in travel and introduced him to an industry that would ultimately become the next chapter of his career.

In March 2010, Brendan had the opportunity to establish Brendan’s Australian Tours. The company’s first tour departed in June that year.

Building a business of his own

Today, Brendan’s Australian Tours operates from Ararat and offers five-star, motel-accommodated coach tours to popular destinations throughout Australia, along with several international tours each year.

Brendan now conducts 25 tours annually and has built a reputation for personal attention, reliability and quality experiences. The company also provides a door-to-door service, picking passengers up from home and returning them at the end of their tour.

For Brendan, establishing the business remains his proudest career achievement.

“Without a doubt, starting Brendan’s Australian Tours back in 2010 is something I am very proud of,” he said.

While Brendan no longer works as a chef, the skills, work ethic and experience gained through his apprenticeship helped create the foundation for everything that followed.

Seeing where the pathway leads

Looking back, Brendan says his career is an example of how an initial opportunity can lead somewhere completely unexpected.

“I certainly did not think I would start my own tour company way back in 1986 when I started my cooking apprenticeship,” he said.

“I started off as a chef, and while I no longer cook, it did lead me on a pathway to start my own business.”

His advice to young people beginning their careers is to focus on learning, even if they do not yet know where their working life will take them.

“Starting off your career is about gaining as much knowledge as you can and, as time goes by, seeing where the pathway leads you.”

Forty years after becoming Skillinvest’s first apprentice, Brendan remains grateful for the opportunity and the role it played in shaping his future.

“It is wonderful to be part of the story,” he said.

“Wimmera & Grampians Group Training Company employed me as the very first apprentice, and I cannot thank John Ackland enough for that opportunity.

“I must say, though, it does not seem like it was 40 years ago when this all began.”

-ENDS-