The Mackie's Electrical and Refrigeration employee won the Apprentice of the Year at the 2014 NSW Training Awards.

The 34-year-old mature-age apprentice has worked at Mackie's for the past four years and was recognised for his outstanding work at the awards night held in Sydney.

The budding electrician said it was a quite a surprise to hear his name announced as the best apprentice in the State.

"It still feels a bit surreal, and you're thinking in the back of your head 'Is this really happening?'," he said.

Mark's commitment to his job is reflected in his unwavering dedication to help customers.

"The thing I love about the job and why I got into the service industry was to help people, helping people in fixing things," he said.

Mark has a clear outlook on where the future lies for his line of trade.

"A lot of the stuff we're seeing is a mixture of the three fields of electronics, electrical and refrigeration," he said.

"If it's not connected to the internet and controllable via Wi-Fi, iPhone, Android or smartphone then it's only a matter of time before it is."

When he's not plying his trade as an electrician, Mark donates his time to the NSW Fire and Rescue and is raising a family, with his wife and two young children, as well as studying for his third apprenticeship in air conditioning/refrigeration.

The busy man who hails from Wingham said he had a key philosophy when it came to juggling his many commitments.

"Time management's the biggest part and sliding things in when you can, and it all seems to fall into place," he said.

While studying at TAFE NSW's North Coast Institute at Port Macquarie, Mark completed a Certificate III in Electrotechnology Entertainment and Servicing in 2003 and a Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician last year, and is currently completing a Certificate III in Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration.

His electrotechnology teacher, Anthony Lindsay said Mark was a more than worthy recipient of the State award.

"He's an excellent student. We prefer a student who likes to challenge us and he's always done that," he said.

"He's always questioning us and if we didn't know, we'd find out for him or that would be his homework,

"Without question he deserved his nomination. He's really knuckled down, having a young family and working for the firies, and he's learnt the law of effort and reward - if you put in the effort you get the reward."

Mark's employer of four years, Paul Mackie, said he was thrilled to see one of his best employees recognised.

"Mark is a valuable member of our team and it's great to see him recognised for his hard work and achievements," he said.

"He's just a very positive person in the way he thinks, his focus is really good as is his attitude to work.

"He's enthusiastic and his communication with customers is excellent, the way he lays out the information to them about technology."

Mark now heads to Adelaide for the national training awards in November. He said it would be an absolute bonus to be named the national apprentice of the year.

"It would be fantastic if I do, but if I don't I've already come that far and if I don't come away with anything it will still be a fantastic experience in Adelaide."