Grace Harris, from the NSW Southern Highlands town of Robertson received the highest aggregate award last week. She began her apprenticeship with TAFE Illawarra at the beginning of 2015 with the Girls Branch Out team.

The Girls Branch Out team is a local community initiative where female members work on a range of different painting and decorating jobs for both domestic and business clients in the area.

Harris' mother, Jill Star, is also a qualified painter and delighted that her daughter in following in her footsteps.

"I'm very proud of her," Star told the Southern Highland News. "She never stops working and is very industrious. She always wants to do her best and is concerned about the finished product. I can send her off on her own and know she'll do the right thing. She often consults with me and we talk about things. She often has better ideas than me."