Major Training Field Officer Alex Bozinovski has spent almost a year helping apprentices and employers across New South Wales, while his beloved Newcastle Knights have spent the same year making a Cinderella run through the NRL finals.
On Sunday night the Newcastle Knights will run out at Stadium Australia for their first preliminary final since 2013, barely a year after finishing the 2025 season with the wooden spoon.
As Newcastle collectively holds its breath through every set and celebrates every try, Alex will be right there with them, proudly flying the flag as one of the Knights’ most die-hard supporters.
Alex is a Novocastrian through and through, born and raised in the city and in no hurry to leave it.
“Would never leave,” he says.
He was a young boy when Andrew Johns was carving up defences at the old Marathon Stadium, and he has loved the red and blue ever since.
These days he watches Bradman Best barrel through the centres, a player who has cemented himself as a big game player.
Alex can relate to the kind of fight that takes. His own season has been played out on the highways and back roads of regional New South Wales, from the Hunter Valley vineyards to beyond the back of Bourke.
Thrown in the deep end
Alex joined Major Training as a Field Officer 11 months ago, drawn by the chance to help build something special in New South Wales and by a registered training organisation that values good people.
He joined Major Training because he believes in the flexible training model and sees the benefits for all apprentices and businesses wanting high quality training within their respective trades.
The pace of growth south of the border caught him by surprise.
“I was virtually thrown in the deep end after two weeks and have not stopped ever since.”
His role stretches well beyond the driver’s seat. Alex works alongside apprentices, employers and trainers to keep training on track and workplaces engaged, managing compliance, conducting workplace visits and shaping tailored support around each apprentice and each business.
When an employer needs a training plan that fits the way their workshop or site actually runs, Alex is the one sitting down with them to build it.
Life behind the wheel
A typical week starts early with the Ute loaded up, a coffee in the cup holder and the Merewether Beach sunrise fading in the rear-view mirror.
“I have been with Major Training 11 months now and have put roughly 25,000 kilometres on the Ute,” Alex said.
That works out at around 3,125 kilometres for every month he has been on the road, with Alex enrolling apprentices in Gunnedah, Dubbo and Orange as he helps connect regional communities with rewarding trade careers.
“Face to face communication is honestly unmatched when it comes to relationship building. It’s crucial for our continued support from businesses and apprentices,” he said.
Listening to employers
For all the kilometres on the clock, Alex believes the real work begins once the engine goes quiet and he is standing in a workshop with the people who run it.
“Listening is one of the most overlooked traits,” he said.
Alex’s gift is becoming a trusted advisor for business owners who are weighing up whether to take on their first apprentice.
“People often think of the worst-case scenario when it comes to taking risks, and apprentices are often seen as a risk because of how younger generations are perceived.”
Alex meets that hesitation taking the time to understand how it operates and matching the training to its people, its workload and its goals.
For any employer still sitting on the fence, his advice is simple.
“Ask questions until there are no more left. You don’t know what you don’t know. I’ll always provide transparent support and information to anyone seeking advice.”
A big year of progress
Major Training’s Beresfield office was two weeks into its infancy when Alex was hired as a Field Officer.
At the same time the Knights were still picking themselves up off the bottom of the ladder. Both have covered plenty of ground since. The Knights have fought their way to within one win of a grand final, and Alex has clocked 25,000 kilometres building the trust that keeps apprentices in their trades and employers coming back.
Ask him whether Newcastle can go all the way and he answers before the question is finished.
“Absolutely. It’s not about the size of the dog in the fight – its about the size of the fight in the dog.”
Whatever the scoreboard says on Sunday night, Alex will be back in the Ute on Monday morning, heading west with the sunrise in the mirror and another apprentice waiting at the end of the road.
