| A 21-year-old Hastings automotive apprentice, Michael Paaymans, has won the 2011 MTA Apprentice of the Year Award and was advised of his win by none other than V8 Supercar driver Greg Murphy. For his effort Michael won a trip to work with Greg and his racing pit crew at Melbourne’s Sandown Circuit this year, a $2000 cash prize and a potential study grant from MITO. Michael says the phone call took him by surprise. “I answered the phone and heard ‘Gidday, it's Greg Murphy here’. My reaction was ‘Who?’ I wasn’t expecting to hear from Greg himself.” Despite being in the middle of his Bathurst weekend, Greg Murphy took time to have a good chat with Michael about what he’ll experience when he visits Sandown. Michael has been with Lodge Auto Centre for three years and was awarded best apprentice after a competition held in Wellington on October 1. It was a gruelling day of testing for Michael and three other finalists, with four practical tests and a panel interview in only five hours. “The competition was tough and pretty challenging at times,” says Michael. The toughest part of the day for Michael was the electronic fuel injection task, and it was the first practical he faced. “I’d have preferred to start with something else, but it all worked out in the end,” he says. A strong work ethic has seen Michael complete his apprenticeship in less than two years. He says all the hard work was definitely worth it. Like many apprentices, Michael has been interested in cars from a young age. From the age of 13 to 16 he raced mini-stocks. He later moved into mainstream racing and was then given the opportunity to take up an apprenticeship with Lodge Auto Centre in Hastings. He initially found it a challenge to fit bookwork in around his day-to-day work, yet Michael took it all in his stride, and proved he has what it takes. His employers Richard and Craig Field were really happy to hear the news. They nominated Michael for the award and couldn’t have sung the praises of their young apprentice any louder. “Michael is incredibly focused on his work. When he is given a task, we know that it will be done to the best of his ability. He works through things in a conscientious way to make sure that everyone is happy,” says Craig. |
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