The MTA Queensland 2022 Industry Awards Gala was held at the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane on November 19. More than 200 guests from across the state were in attendance, including MTA Queensland members, industry stakeholders, corporate partners of the Association, and political representatives, as well as friends, family, and colleagues of the MTA Queensland awards finalists.
Hosted, as it was last year and in 2019, by Channel Seven’s Ben Davis, special guests included Olympic Swimming Coach Dean Boxall; James Martin MP, Member for Stretton where MTA Queensland’s head office is based; and the Hon Dianne Farmer MP, Minister for Employment and Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development.
An evening during which the talent, professionalism, innovative thinking and achievements of individuals and businesses were recognised via the presentation of the Community award, the Innovation award, the Women In Industry award, and the Apprentice of the Year award, the Gala kicked off with an inspirational Welcome to Country ceremony performed by Thomas Coghill of Tribal Experiences, before MTA Queensland Chairman Paul Peterson and CEO Rod Camm addressed the guests.
Since becoming CEO in 2020, Mr Camm has introduced a number of initiatives aimed at delivering across-the-board improvements to members, and he commented on the development of some of these during 2022 in his address, including the training options through programs such as online micro-credential courses; the frequent member meetings and workshops held across the state; and the launch into regional Queensland locations of the Auto Ready: Introduction to Automotive program for school students.
The evolution of the industry continues to influence MTA Queensland’s work, and Mr Camm also mentioned his trip to Europe with leaders of other Motor Trade Associations from across the country to research the transition to electric mobility in nations including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, and the country that has most readily embraced electrification, Norway. The findings of that trip helped shape the MTA Queensland submission to the federal government on its National Electric Vehicle Strategy Consultation Paper.
2022 was also the first full year for MTA Queensland’s Auto Women initiative, established to enable women working in the industry to connect and network with others; share experiences, advice, and news; and receive a level of mentorship from those with experience and knowledge from across all industry sectors and across all levels of employment, from apprenticeship to CEO level. The Auto Women initiative also provides scholarships to leadership programs run by Women & Leadership Australia. Four such scholarships have been awarded so far.
The Auto Ready and Auto Women programs form part of MTA Queensland’s mission to encourage young people and women to consider an automotive career path and grab the tremendous opportunities available. Like many other industries, automotive is anxious to find, develop and retain skilled workers, and the drive to assist businesses with that challenge will continue to be an important aspect of MTA Queensland’s work.
While commenting on these and other programs that have been developed, launched, and expanded upon over the last 12 months, Mr Camm also gave a preview of what members can expect from the Association in 2023. Top of the list was more interaction with members through regional workshops; responding to members’ needs and requests with rapid, focused action; and working with the Queensland Government and the department overseen by Minister Farmer both in the development of training programs in areas of expected growth such as electrified vehicles and other new technologies, as well as the development of programs aimed to tackle skills and labour shortages.
“I’ve been working with government pretty much my whole career, and over the next year we’ll be coming to you with a plethora of services that is only possible because of Minister Farmer’s department,” said Mr Camm.
“You’ve been telling us that you’re experiencing unprecedented shortages of people, of skills shortages and challenges in the labour market, which means the people you are starting to encounter need more support. We are working with Minister Farmer’s department to connect the community with you but ensure there are support programs in between.
“You’ve also been telling us that you’re looking for more skills across the state and, again, working with Minister Farmer’s department, we’ll be rolling out electric vehicle and a range of other emerging technology courses.
“You told us that you need help around workplace relations, around how to create a diverse workplace, so we are rolling out an industry workforce advisor program whose role it will be to come out and sit with you in your workshop and ask, ‘What do we need to change here?’, ‘What are you thinking about in changing your arrangements?’ It will also be a model that can help you with skilled migration for the gaps that we can’t fill.
“And you’ve talked to us about skilled work transition and, yes, we are rolling out more programs in Queensland schools, working once again in partnership with Minister Farmer’s department.
“We are turning over every stone to rejuvenate our approach to industry, and we are absolutely committed to it.”
A WORD FROM THE MINISTER
Following Mr Camm to the speaker’s podium was Minister Farmer, who commented on the challenges the automotive industry faces, its development and evolution, and the satisfaction of seeing the industry move to encourage women into its ranks. She also talked warmly of the working relationship with MTA Queensland.
“I want to congratulate everyone here who is running their own business,” said the Minister to guests. “I was really interested to see in the figures when I was getting ready for tonight that there are 16,000 auto businesses in Queensland. We have communities everywhere – rural, remote, regional communities – and there are a few things that every community really cannot do without, and one is actually you – it’s hard for a community to function without you.
“We know there is so much happening in the electric vehicle space, in hydrogen, hybrid vehicles, and it is happening so quickly . . . and we all know that if you don’t have the skills to fix and maintain those cars, then this industry is not going to work,” she added. “So I want to thank MTA Queensland as amazing partners in working with us to make sure that wherever you are across Queensland, you have the skills, you’ve got the training, have people who have been in the industry for a long time and new people coming through. We are putting our money where our mouth is as a government saying we are going to make sure we support you.”
Regarding the effort to encourage women into the industry, Minister Farmer praised MTA Queensland, and its members, on the work undertaken thus far.
“There is lots happening in this space,” said Minister Farmer. “We know you need a workforce – it’s a problem in every region and every sector – and we are working closely with you to see how we can help you with finding people and take them on and retain them. People you might never have looked at before. And I want to call on MTA Queensland – the work you do around getting women into your industry is second to none . . . These days, when you are so short of workers, you cannot afford to ignore women who are 51 per cent of the population . . . I went out earlier this year and I said to all those male-dominated industries that you’ve got to have a women’s policy, you’ve actually got to be doing something – this is not going to happen by itself. And the first industry to go out was yours . . . and I know you are going to be successful.”
THE AWARDS
Preceding the presentation of the awards, guests were treated to a highly entertaining conversation/interview between Ben Davis and Dean Boxall. Boxall, you may recall, became globally famous during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when, as coach of Australian swimming phenomenon Ariarne Titmus, he was caught on video celebrating wildly as Titmus completed the swim of a lifetime to beat American icon Katie Ledecky to the 400m freestyle gold. The footage of Boxall’s celebration went viral, and a star was born.
Of course, Boxall’s actions were not just a reaction to the 3 minutes 56.69 seconds it took for Titmus to complete that race, but also the months and years of dedicated practice that the pair put into preparing for the Olympics. Boxall’s description of the effort required to challenge Ledekcy over the two years leading up to the Olympics was a testament to the hard work, tenacity, and dogged commitment it takes to be the best at what you do – a good lesson for everyone.
And what did he think when he saw the moment that made him a viral star? Refreshingly, the outburst of pure joy was just that, spontaneous and personal, without a thought for social media or what it might mean if caught on camera.
“I think of the incredible hard work that went into that race,” Boxall said of his feelings at that moment. “I never thought I was on TV . . . there was nobody in the stadium at Tokyo except for, basically, the competitors who went to watch. I needed to disappear from the Australian swimming team – I was like a caged animal – so they let me go and I snuck away and watched the race unfold. I’m not on social media, and neither was Arnie, but I heard at one stage that there were
320,000 TikTok memes going around. Is that good? No idea!”
As entertaining as Boxall was, however, the highlight of the evening was the presentation of the MTA Queensland awards and the focus they put on the remarkable achievements of businesses and individuals working and training across Queensland’s automotive industry sectors.
COMMUNITY AWARD
The Community Award finalists were The Garage Miami, Southeast Auto Mechanical, and Jeeepart Recyclers. The Garage Miami, located on the Gold Coast, was named the winner with owners Nathan Brookes and Andrew Whiteway accepting the award from Jason Murray, CEO of Spirit Super.
The Garage Miami, which offers a range of mechanical services – including comprehensive 4×4 upgrades, and wheel and tyre services – was established in 2017 and has focused on building strong links throughout the local community. The business sponsors a number of organisations including sports clubs such as the Bond Pirates Rugby Union, the Magic United Soccer Club, and MNM Boardriders, as well as the Miami Nippers SLSC. Also supported is the Palmy in Pink Dinner Fundraiser for Breast Cancer, as well as the endeavours of the local Miami State High and Miami State School. The business encourages the next generation of automotive workers by offering work experience placements to local young people and also works closely with other high-quality local businesses, building a community that supports each other with referrals and recommendations.
“I don’t think that normally a community award is probably something we always chase – I think it is something that every business that can afford to, should do,” said Nathan Brookes on receiving the award. “We like to see the fact that the Miami Boardriders Club has a new trailer, that the Bond Pirates have a new scrum machine . . . we like to see the fact that the Miami State School can sponsor a technology program or whatever those things might be. I’m not sure it is an award-worthy thing, but it is something that definitely anyone in business should be doing.”
INNOVATION AWARD
The Innovation Award recognises businesses that support or are implementing innovative practices and/or products into the automotive and mobility industry, and the 2022 award finalists included two businesses – Benzina Zero and EMoS Australia – that provide world-class electric vehicles, such as scooters and mopeds, designed to transport goods and people easily and efficiently. The third finalist – researcher, entrepreneur and academic Sarfraz Ali Kyani – works on finding and creating sustainable opportunities for the automotive recycling industry with his innovative research leading to ways of utilising plastic recycling and additive manufacturing to create, amongst other products, 3D-printed car parts.
This year’s winner of the Innovation Award was Benzina Zero, and the award was presented by Neil Pike, Supply Operations Manager of Capricorn, to company founders Joe D’Ercole and Ben Silver.
Benzina Zero has come a long way in a short time. Motor Trader was proud to interview Joe and Ben in 2021 as the business was close to launch and, since then, the company has its range of scooters available through 10, mainly Queensland-based, outlets with the aim to grow to more than 25 outlets by the end of the 2023 financial year. They have also launched into Europe, where they are based in Italy, and have agreements to commence distribution in 18 countries across Europe and Asia.
The company’s products are, of course, environmentally friendly electric vehicles, but Benzina Zero’s mission to be protective of our natural surroundings goes beyond that, with Joe and Ben developing – in partnership with the not-for-profit organisation Greenfleet – an initiative called the ‘1m2 Project’ which ensures that for each vehicle sold globally, one square metre of land will be regenerated in Australia. The company has also signed up to the B-Cycle Battery Stewardship program, a government-backed battery recycling scheme.
“I’d just like to say thank you to everyone who has supported us along our way,” said Ben Silver after collecting the award. “We officially launched this year, and it has been a very long journey. We’ve obviously dealt with a few things like COVID, and shipping issues, but we are really proud of what we do, and we do believe we are making a difference. We look forward to 2023 – it is going to be a very exciting year.”
WOMEN IN INDUSTRY AWARD
The Women IN Industry Award was introduced by MTA Queensland in 2019 to recognise a female leader achieving success through their commitment to driving change in the automotive or mobility industry, and to encourage more women to consider the industry as a career option.
The finalists for the award were Hatice Hutchinson of All Car Engine Reconditioning Services; Tania Meli of Frizelle Sunshine Automotive Group; and the team from Skid Control – a Brisbane-based driver training business. Skid Control was named the winner and the award was presented to representatives Hannah Busch and Zara Waller by Alan Abbott, Regional Manager for Busy At Work.
Skid Control, which was founded by professional racer Dylan Cothill in 2016, has been running driver training events – focused on performance driving – for more than seven years. Recognising that female participation in these events was often small, the business launched a new concept called ‘She’s In Control’, run by women and aiming to empower others to get involved and participate in performance and track driving.
The result of this program has been significant, with the program seeing female participation rising and feedback revealing a truly positive experience for participants. That positive response has, Skid Control says, resulted in ‘a community being created, where ladies are supporting each other, they are bringing their girlfriends along for a new experience, and Dads are bringing their daughters to learn new skills.’
“With Skid Control, we saw so few girls coming along, and those that did we heard saying ‘I’m too scared to go on track with the guys’ . . . and we said that’s not on, we are sick of hearing that, this is something everyone can do, life skills people can learn,” said Hannah Busch when accepting the award with Zara Waller. “And now we see dads bringing their 16-year-old girls who have just got their licence, and they’re coming out enjoying and learning from the experience.”
“I would like to say thank you to Dylan,” added Zara, speaking of Skid Control’s founder. “He won’t put his hand up, but he has given us a platform to do something that we love and to share it with so many other people.”
APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR
The highlight of the evening was the announcement of the MTA Queensland Apprentice of the Year award winner.
12 outstanding apprentices, some who have now qualified as tradespeople, were up for the award, but it was Britain Leotta, a 20-year-old, third-year auto-electrical apprentice with Mackay Transit Coaches who took home the honour.
All the finalists received a 3.8’’ Drive 56pc ratchet and socket set courtesy of Milwaukee Tool while Britain, as the winner, also received a Milwaukee 218-piece Automotive Starter Toolkit. More importantly, perhaps, was the honour of being named Apprentice of the Year, a remarkable achievement when considering the MTA Institute trains more than 2300 students across Queensland.
For Britain, winning the award did come as quite a shock, as it did to his partner and parents who had come down from Mackay to share the experience with him. However, and in what is a sign, perhaps, of why he won, Britain did come prepared with a speech, just in case.
“I couldn’t believe it. I was amazed,” he said of his win. “I wouldn’t say I was confident, but I was very excited at the opportunity to get it, and so did write down something to say.”
Actually, Britain only got through two-thirds of his speech before applause from guests made him pause and decide to stop things there. While that meant he had been able to thank many for their help on his auto-electrical apprenticeship journey, he took the chance when speaking with Motor Trader to read those missing last few sentences. And so here is his acceptance speech in full:
“To receive such a prestigious award is truly a dream come true, especially to receive this award among all these amazing peers beside me. I have taken enjoyment every month reading everybody’s articles and being amazed by the accomplishments being achieved by my fellow peers. From my first day of work experience as an auto electrician, I realised this is the job for me. Waking up every morning and going to a dream job is something not many people get to do and I am truly thankful for that.
“I’d like to say a few quick thank-yous – firstly to Jason who originally nominated me for this award, and to Gareth, my MTA Institute trainer who has taken me on. I’d also like to thank Mackay Transit Coaches. They took me on as an apprentice and they have helped me achieve things I could never even dream of. I’d also like to thank my parents, for being there for me from day one, taking me to work experience, helping me with job interviews, really doing everything, and also my girlfriend, who has helped me in many many ways, listening to me when I’ve got new ideas and when I want to talk about work – just everything.
“I want to say thank you to MTA Queensland for the honour of presenting me with the award. I had a wonderful experience with the fascinating hands-on learning MTA Institute has to offer, and to be presented with such an amazing award is truly remarkable – especially at a time of automotive transition to electric and biofuel. It is an honour I can’t put into words.”
A terrific acceptance speech on a night that was a highlight of a career just getting rolling was followed by more good news when Britain returned to work at Mackay Transit Coaches, where the reaction from colleagues and his employers was especially pleasing.
“The reaction was unreal,” said Britain. “I came in and they had a little breakfast set up and gave me a $1000 gift card for more tools! Not sure what I am going to spend that on, but I’ll find a way!”
The Apprentice of the Year award recognises the skill, determination, and commitment an apprentice brings to their work, and can – and certainly should – give every finalist confidence in their ability and in their decision to work in the automotive industry, as wellas give them the belief that the career path they are on is limited only by their own ambition. That holds true for Britain, who also had some words of encouragement for those apprentices just starting the automotive career journey.
“I wouldn’t say this has changed my outlook, but it has definitely broadened where I want to go,” he said. “I’m looking further ahead and a lot bigger now.
“The best advice I can give is to make sure it is something you want to do,” said Britain. “That is where it worked out really well for me. I don’t go home and not look forward to coming back to work – I go home and think about wanting to learn more about what I did that day. I think also that a lot of what deters young apprentices is the money, but you’ve got to look further than that – once you’re done training it’s good money and great job opportunities . . . the starting money really means nothing.”
According to Paul Kulpa, General Manager of the MTA Institute, the quality of the 2022 Apprentice of the Year finalists was, once again, tremendously high.
“Every year, the judging panel finds it a tremendous challenge to pick one apprentice out of so many worthy finalists,” he said. “The quality of apprentices
that the MTA Institute trains is terrifically high, and we continue to be amazed by the effort and commitment they show to developing the skills they need to be successful in this rapidly changing industry.
“However, while the judging was difficult, Britain is a very worthy winner, proving to be very skilled, committed, and with a quick-thinking and innovative mind.
“The MTA Queensland Apprentice of the Year award is a prestigious honour. With more than 2300 students being trained by the Institute, it is no small thing to be nominated and to become a finalist, and it is a distinction recognised throughout the industry. I’d like to thank our trainers and employers who take the time to consider and nominate their apprentices.
“I’d also like to mention how pleasing it is to see the diversity of this year’s nominees. They come from across industry sectors – from light vehicle to refinishing, from auto electrical to heavy commercial – and from right across urban and regional areas of Queensland. This year we had three female finalists. That is a very encouraging sign for an industry that must move to become a more attractive career option for women.”
RAISING FUNDS
Another important part of the Industry Awards Gala is the fundraising auction on behalf of Youngcare, MTA Queensland’s official charity partner. Youngcare is a not-for-profit organisation spearheading change to create a future where every young person with high care needs has the choice and dignity to live the lives we all deserve. MTA Queensland is proud to offer its support.
Each year, the generosity of guests – and of those who donate items to the auction – ensures an outstanding sum is raised for Youngcare, and this year that number hit a very respectable $12,000.
The auction was, as always, lively and fun, as guests bid on items such as Triple Eight Racing/Red Bull Ampol supercar car body components – including a framed front grille signed by Jamie Whincup and Shane Van Gisbergen, a framed rear bumper signed by Shane Van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney, and a framed rear guard panel signed by Shane Van Gisbergen and Broc Feeney – a holiday to Mooloolaba, a getaway at the Emporium Hotel, a 2014 bottle of Penfolds Shiraz, and a 2017 Queensland State of Origin jersey signed by rugby league great Kevin Walters.
MTA Queensland thanks Triple Eight Race Engineering, Mark Dodge Motoring, the Emporium Hotel, Peter and Cathy Hyne, and Jeeepart Recyclers for the generous donation of auction items.
MTAQ Queensland thanks its guests, friends, and sponsors for making the 2022 Industry Award Gala so memorable. As always, it was a tremendous celebration of what makes the automotive industry so exceptional.
See you next year!
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (December 2022/January 2023)
20 December 2022