Jack Farraway is the MTA Institute Apprentice of the Month for March 2022.
The 18-year-old, third-year apprentice has been working at Done Right Automotive in Charters Towers since he was just 14 and, according to his trainer Gavin Jacobs, his ‘commitment to his training, development, and employment . . . is outstanding.’
Having finished school at the end of 2021, Jack has been with the business full time only since January this year but has been a highly valued member of the Done Right team right from the start when he began working at the business a couple of afternoons after school to help out and do some cleaning around the workshop. It wasn’t too long before he had secured a school-based apprenticeship position.
“It was clear from early on he had the potential and was eager to learn,” said Done Right owner Mick Blacklock. “He soon became a part of the furniture.
“Jack’s positive attitude and willingness to learn and achieve is outstanding and makes him a valuable member of our team. His interactions with customers and suppliers, combined with his maturity and respect for his peers and workplace demonstrates his understanding of his position within the business and automotive industry . . . We can’t speak highly enough of him. We have struck gold with this man!”
Jack has always had an interest in cars and would help his dad work on his cars whenever he could.
And he even got his hands on a vehicle nice and early, owning a 1996 Patrol since he was 13 – a very useful project vehicle for a young man fascinated by the workings of the combustion engine and all things automotive.
“I have always enjoyed cars and how it all works has always interested me. The technology, and how it has come such a long way in a short amount of time, blows my mind,” he said.
That fascination with the technology is still strong, and Jack said it is the challenges that the mechanical trade can throw his way that makes the work especially interesting.
“We work on pretty much everything here,” he said. “Any job from general services to replacing engines – we can do anything on any make and model. And I like the long, technical jobs that come in – the challenging ones. Doing work you might not have done before, and learning the things needed to complete that job – there’s a sense of accomplishment when you complete that kind of work.”
Having trained with the MTA Institute since he started his apprenticeship – now with trainer Gavin Jacobs but beginning with the late and much-missed trainer Richard Matthews – Jack said the one-on-one, in-the-workplace training model delivered by the Institute was one he enjoyed.
“Both my trainers have been excellent, and the MTA Institute training works really well for me,” he said. “Anything I am struggling with or need to understand better, then Gavin can go in-depth on that with me, and that really helps.”
Jack’s apprenticeship is expected to be completed toward the end of 2023, and he already has some ideas about where his career may head. He also recognises that the industry is changing rapidly, and more training is likely in the future.
“I am interested in diesels, and I think I might go for my diesel qualification,” he said. “And I know electric vehicles are coming, even if it seems unlikely we’ll see many of them out here for a while, so I would certainly be interested in learning about them.
“I wouldn’t mind having my own workshop at some point, and I would like to get more into the performance side of things. That really is interesting – making something that shouldn’t be going very fast, go fast. That does get me going!”
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (April 2022)
13 April 2022
