Bradley Bull, MTA Institute Apprentice of the Month for October 2023
Bradley Bull is the MTA Institute Apprentice of the Month for October 2023.
The 31-year-old is in the fourth year of his light vehicle apprenticeship and works for the Bowen Mazda and MG dealership in Bowen, north Queensland.
He has proven to be an outstanding apprentice, overcoming a troubled past to become a valued member of the workshop team and someone who has, his employer says, ‘the required skillset to liaise with customers well, actively provide input on best practice ideas for the workshop, and enjoys mentoring and helping the junior apprentices in our team.’
It says much about Bradley that he has overcome a history that has seen him spend time incarcerated, only to come out the other side, draw a line under that past, and grasp the opportunity offered to him by a forward-thinking business.
The road to his apprenticeship was a rocky one.
“When I first left school, I went to the mines but was hurt in a motorbike accident and couldn’t pay my bills,” said Bradley. “I turned to selling drugs, was caught, and got five years in prison. When I got out I worked at Hamilton Island for a while as a plasterer but then the pandemic happened and things shut down.”
Out of work and back in Bowen, Bradley saw a Facebook post advertising for an apprentice at Bowen Mazda. Encouraged to apply for the job by his partner, that post signalled the beginning of a journey to a career that had actually been a long-held dream.
“When I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a mechanic – it was a dream,” said Bradley. “I grew up around Speedway – my nanna and pop were involved with the Collinsville Speedway track back in the day – and my dad is a motor trimmer, and I spent a lot of time around cars, pulling them apart to see how they worked.”
Taking the chance to apply for the apprentice spot, Bradley would successfully complete a two-week trial, and was fortunate to find himself in the hands of a business ready to take a chance on him.
“I did my two weeks, gave it my best, and they came up to me and said, ‘We’ve been told that you’ve got a bit of history.’ I told them I had been incarcerated but that I wanted to do the right thing, and they said, ‘We are all about second chances.’ I am blessed with the opportunity I have been given.”
He has grasped that opportunity with both hands and now, as a fourth-year apprentice, works hard to develop his skills, helps mentor junior apprentices in the team, and is able to do most jobs that come through the workshop – from general servicing to engine swaps. He enjoys every moment of the job and the satisfaction that comes from doing it well and seeing customers drive home happy.
“I love it all,” he said. “People need their cars to go to work to pay their bills. It’s the biggest investment they’ll make other than their house, so I take my time and take pride in what I do.
“This job to me is everything. There’s lots of positive energy and positive people around, and it has made me a positive person.”
As the industry moves towards electrification, Bradley is keen to gain the skills to work on electric vehicles (EVs). And as the Bowen dealership includes both Mazda and MG, he is being exposed to that technology.
“We do get a fair few electrified MGs through, and I am doing the EV modules through the MTA Institute. Those extra modules were added into my apprenticeship so I can do them and have them under my belt,” he said. Further manufacturers’ training is also on the cards after he qualifies.
Bradley is scheduled to complete his qualification in just a few months and his training with the MTA Institute has, he said, been a great experience, with the one-on-one, in-the-workshop training delivery helping him tremendously.
“Because I do lack a bit in reading and writing, if something is worded a certain way, sometimes it can be confusing,” he said. “That’s when my trainer Gareth really helps, because he might say it another way and then I get it.
“And when it is just me and him, it also means there are no interruptions and you don’t have other people judging you. That training does work well for me.”
Once he has qualified, Bradley said he would be looking to stay on with Bowen Mazda. They gave him the chance to succeed, and for someone with a growing family, working at a place you enjoy going to every day is a bit of a blessing.
“I love to be home every afternoon with the kids, and I love dropping them off at school in the morning,” he said. “So I will stay here. It’s a great place.”
The MTA Institute Apprentice of the Month is proudly sponsored by Spirit Super.
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (November 2023)
8 November 2023
