Miss Fishlock and fellow Katherinite Raymond Fordimail are the toast of Katherine after the pair collected two of the major gongs at the 60th Northern Territory Training Awards on August 29.

“I’m in absolute disbelief,” she laughed.

“How did I get here?”

The affable 23-year-old electrician claimed the Austin Asche Apprentice of the Year Award, while Mr Fordimail – who studies at Katherine High School and is completing a Certificate III in Business with Nitmiluk Tours – won the School-Based Apprentice or Trainee of the Year Award.

For Mr Fordimail, the victory was a payoff for chasing a dream.

“This school-based apprenticeship has given me the chance to complete my schooling while doing something I love,” he said.

“The training has given me so many more skills with my maths and English, and also working as a part of a team.

“It is allowing me to be a role model for other Jawoyn people.”

Both Mr Fordimail and Miss Fishlock are undertaking their vocational training through Charles Darwin University, with the latter acknowledging that opting for electrical trade with M&K Lee Electrical had allowed her to forge a career while remaining close to her family and friends in Katherine.

“The great thing about vocational education is that you’re doing a trade and you don’t have to go away to university,” she told the Katherine Times.

Less than 36 hours after her victory, Miss Fishlock was back on the tools and still coming to grips with the magnitude of her achievement.

She admitted that she battled an onslaught of butterflies in the lead-up to her category being announced towards the end of the gala dinner.

“It felt like torture because our category wasn’t until last, so I couldn’t eat or drink,” she said.

“There were 503 people there and, when I made my speech, I realised they wanted to hear what I had to say.

“I still don’t know what I said.”

Both Katherinites will head to Hobart in November for the 2015 Australian Training Awards.