MTA Queensland held its annual Industry Dinner at the W Hotel in Brisbane hotel on November 10. More than 200 guests from across the state were in attendance, including MTA Queensland members, industry stakeholders, corporate partners of the Association, political representatives and friends, family and colleagues of the MTA Institute Apprentice of the Year nominees.

Hosted once again by the brilliant Shane Jacobson, the Industry Dinner’s theme was ‘New World Automotive’ – a reflection of the evolution of the industry as new technology and concepts begin to make their mark.

That theme was expanded upon by Dr Brett Dale, CEO of MTA Queensland, during his opening address. Dr Dale spoke about the future of mobility and transportation, the speed of change, and how crucial the automotive industry will continue to be to the country.

“The reality is that Australia’s prosperity depends very much on our ability to service the nation through automotive’s core services,” he said.

“As a nation, we hear about the impact of technological disruption together with the possibilities that it may bring us. What we need to appreciate is that the technology within the automotive industry will change every other industry and underpin the social, economic and environmental benefits to all Australians. Indeed, the challenge for us is to posture business to lead and wait for no one. That is key to our success. Change is inevitable, and the time is now to act and prepare for those changes.”

The evening’s special guest speaker was drift racing superstar Jake Jones.

The 28-year-old Jones is one of a handful of Australians to have competed in the D1GP drift series in Japan and the Red Bull China drift series. He also has a Pro Formula Drift USA licence and, not surprisingly considering his profession, pilots a drifting car – a 1000hp tyre-shredding monster – that is truly something special.

During his address, which covered his passion for drifting and how he had worked to break into the sport and build his career, Jones compared his own journey to that of the MTA Institute apprentice of the year nominees, and he had a wise piece of advice to share.

“If you stick to what you love and are committed to it, you can get to wherever you want. If you want to do something,
put everything into it and you’ll seriously achieve it.”

A major feature of the Industry Ball is the recognition of the tremendous work of MTA Queensland members and the innovative work of start-ups and businesses that have worked with the MTAiQ Innovation Hub. Through the Community Award and the Innovation Award, MTA Queensland shines a spotlight on the work done by member businesses within the communities they serve and the creative ideas and concepts that are being developed and that serve to advance the industry.

This year, the Community Award was presented to Fionna Blackburne and the team from Southeast Auto Mechanical for the delivery of the Women On The Move course – a free program that offers women the opportunity to learn basic vehicle maintenance skills. The Innovation Award was presented to Greg McGarvie of ACE-EV, a company that is a leader in the electric vehicle space and is set to manufacture a range of EVs – from light commercial vehicles to a nimble city car – in Queensland.

The highlight of the evening, however, was the recognition of some brilliant talent via the MTA Institute Apprentice of the Year Award, presented this year by Michael Sykes, Deputy CEO of MTAA Super.

12 apprentices from across the state had been nominated, and the award, and the prize of $2000, went to Jack Goodrich, a 27-year-old recently qualified light vehicle mechanic from Twidale Auto & Motorcycles in Goondiwindi.

Jack’s intelligence, work ethic, passion for the trade and desire to always do his very best made him an outstanding nominee. although, given the calibre of the other nominees, picking one apprentice was, as it is every year, a tough decision for the judges. And that was something Jack noted in his own award acceptance speech as he thanked his employers, trainer and the MTA Institute.

“There are so many people to thank – my trainer Zak and my generous bosses Ben and Melissa . . . I am 100 per cent indebted to them for this opportunity. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them,” said Jack. “I’d also like to say congratulations to all the other nominees who are here – you guys deserve this every bit as much as I do.

“I’m told there are probably 1500 apprentices across Queensland that MTA Institute are training at any one time. That is a lot of people to get through the industry and they are the future, so good on MTA Institute for training them and doing such a good job. They have been really good to me and a lot of other guys I know.”

Towards the end of the evening’s formalities, an auction was held to raise money for Youngcare, MTA Queensland’s charity partner.

Youngcare works to help young people with high care needs through the building of housing and providing grants. And following an impassioned address by Youngcare’s CEO Anthony Ryan, the auction raised more than $7000 as the bids came flying in for a range of items from holidays to helicopter flights, training courses to champagne. Bidding was particularly lively for a 1.5-litre bottle of 2004 vintage Penfolds Grange that eventually fetched a whopping $2000. MTA Queensland extends its thanks to the generous donation of auction items from I-CAR, MIGAS Apprentice and Trainees, Mazda, Triple Eight Race Engineering, the AADA, and John Tyquin of GOA.

The 2018 MTA Queensland Annual Dinner was a truly memorable evening, and the association thanks our guests, friends and sponsors for making it so memorable.

We look forward to doing it all again in 2019.

Source: Motor Trade E-Magazine (December 2018)

13 Dec 2018