Matthew Wilkins is the MTA Institute Apprentice of the Month for February 2025.
The 20-year-old is in the third year of his auto electrical apprenticeship and works for Angelo and Teena De Maria at Advanced Auto Electrics & Mechanical in Innisfail. An outstanding employee, Matthew has, his employer said, proved himself to be an indispensable member of the team, always first to work and last to leave and always willing to give a hand to anyone who needs it.
As a student, Matthew is proving to be equally impressive. “Matthew is an outstanding apprentice,” said his MTA Institute trainer Antony Joslin. “He is self-motivated in his learning and practical work . . . has grown in confidence during the course of his apprenticeship and is constantly improving his skills and knowledge through myself and Angelo . . .”
While Matthew started his automotive career early – taking on a part-time school-based apprentice before joining Advanced Auto Electrics full time in 2023 – becoming an auto electrician was not something he has always seen himself doing. His ambition was, at one time, to go to university to study and, as a truly outstanding cricketer, perhaps pursue a career as a sportsman. While that pathway is still open to him, a growing interest in automotive drew him in the direction of auto electrical.
“Up until Grade 9, I had always thought I wanted to go to university,” said Matthew, “I got a scholarship with Ipswich Grammar to play cricket but after I went down there, I decided that I didn’t want to go to uni and came home.
“Dad is a diesel fitter and I had often helped out with that, but I had always liked the electrical side more as there was something different every day.”
Matthew’s family has a long relationship with Angelo and Teena at Advanced Auto Electrics, so when Matthew expressed an interest in the work, the match-up was an easy one to make. He soon found himself working at the shop every school holiday until the opportunity for the apprenticeship came along.
Since then, Matthew has been in the thick of it.
Advanced Auto Electrics & Mechanical offers a broad range of services on a wide range of vehicles and machinery and delivers those services at its workshop in Innisfail and on-site at locations from Cairns to Tully. The business works on trucks, tractors, cars, excavators and more and Matthew works closely with Angelo – a 35-year veteran of the industry – every day, be it in the workshop or out on the road at sites including farms, quarries, wharves, and mines.
Add in the training delivered by the MTA Institute, and Matthew couldn’t be receiving a more rounded and comprehensive apprenticeship program. And the breadth of work is what makes the job so interesting, said Matthew,
“I like it all,” he said. “Especially fitouts, when everything is tidy, and diagnosing – especially when it’s an in-depth diagnosis. That is very satisfying.”
But what about cricket? Matthew really is a top-class player. An opening batsman, he has a gift for smacking a cricket ball and racking up big scores. And that skill has seen him rise through the many levels of state cricket so that, in 2023, he was picked for the Queensland U19 team – the first player from north Queensland in 20 years to be so honoured – and in 2024 he was picked to play for the Australian Country Cricket side.
While he is clearly a tremendously gifted player, Matthew is not putting his long-term career hopes into the sport. Not yet.
“If I wanted to go further, I’d probably have to move to Brisbane,” he said. “When I went down there for school, I didn’t really like it . . . so I’m not sure.”
What he is sure about is that he will finish his apprenticeship, stay with Advanced Auto Electrics & Mechanical, and then see where things lead.
“I’ll see how things pan out,” he said. “. . . but the biggest thing is that you have to be happy, and I am very happy here.”
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (March 2025)
20 March 2025
