Emma with MTA Institute Trainer Gareth Hartley
Emma Manzelmann is the MTA Institute Apprentice of the Month for April 2023.
You may have heard Emma’s name before, especially if you are a fan of Rugby League. The 21-year-old, third-year light vehicle apprentice is one of Australia’s top rugby league players and her list of accomplishments is extensive. Playing as a dummy-half, they include twice being named Player of the Year for the North Queensland Gold Stars in the QRL (Queensland Rugby League) BHP Premiership, being part of the 2019 Queensland Women’s under-18 State of Origin squad,and winning the 2022 NRLW Premiership title with the Newcastle Knights.
A few weeks ago, Emma became the inaugural signing for the new North Queensland Cowboys NRLW team which will enter the national NRLW competition this year
(the season kicks off in July).
It’s a move that will keep the Mackay-native in North Queensland. And that’s a good thing, for while her sporting career flourishes, Emma – mindful in part of the relatively short career of a professional sportsperson – continues to work hard at forging a path in the automotive industry too, working to complete her apprenticeship with Mackay-based Jet Maintenance Services, a company that provides mechanical, auto electrical, and onsite field services for light vehicle, and mechanical machinery and equipment.
As Emma told Motor Trader earlier this year, picking automotive for a career after her playing days are over was a natural choice.
“I grew up on a property and was always helping dad with fixing things, but it was more tractors and loaders and that sort of thing,” she said. “I wasn’t scared to get dirty or anything, so I thought I’d just give it a go. I didn’t really know if I’d enjoy it, but I love it . . . ”
Starting out as a trade assistant before taking on her apprenticeship, Emma now works on all manner of vehicles and jobs that come through the Jet Maintenance facility.
“We work on cars and trucks, and we see quite a few vehicles that need repairs or servicing and that need to be made mining site-compliant,” she said, adding that it was the bigger, more complex jobs that she enjoyed the most. “The bigger jobs are more interesting, and time goes heaps quicker!”
Given the pressures and expectations of playing sport at the highest level, Emma’s automotive training does take a back seat during the playing season, with both Jet Maintenance Services and the MTA Institute happy and able to pause that apprenticeship training and then pick it back up again when she is ready.
At just 21, Emma has plenty of years ahead of her in Rugby League, but the automotive industry is, she said, where her future lies once her playing days are over.
“I want to get my trade . . . and have that certificate behind me,” she said. “I want to finish my apprenticeship, and then, hopefully, play football and then come back to automotive when that football career is finished.”
In a short period of time, Emma has amassed a long list of achievements, and while adding the accolade of MTA Institute Apprentice of the Month might not quite reach the heights of winning a Rugby League premiership title, it is still something of which she is rightfully proud.
“It was very exciting to be told I had won and I am very honoured to receive the award,” said Emma. “I am very grateful to have such great support around me.”
The MTA Institute Apprentice of the Month is proudly sponsored by Spirit Super.
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (May 2023)
31 May 2023
