Blake Peagham is the MTA Institute Apprentice of the month for June 2024.
The 38-year-old light vehicle apprentice works at Cam Duffy Autos in Atherton, has just a handful of units to do to complete his qualification and has impressed both his employer and MTA Institute trainer with his ability, positive attitude, attention to detail, and professionalism.
This is not the first go at a light vehicle apprenticeship for Blake. After finishing high school some 20 years ago, he got a couple of years into an apprenticeship, coincidently also at Cam Duffy Autos, before deciding to go a different route, working in transportation and starting his own business in that sector.
A couple of decades on and the idea took shape to return to the workshop environment and potentially complete that apprenticeship.
“It is what I wanted to do when I left school,” said Blake. “I did a pre-vocational course and then ‘job-jumped’ around a bit between three different places. The last place I worked back then, when I was 20, was Cam Duffy Autos, so I did actually do a portion of my apprenticeship.
“However, I was a young man and I went out and had a fantastic adventure for 20 years. I spent a long time in transport and drove trucks all over Australia. It was a really well-paid holiday to be honest with you!”
Blake said it was partly due to ‘being ready to settle down’ getting ‘stabilised’ and, perhaps, acknowledging how tough running a business can be that played a role in him looking to return to the workshop and an apprenticeship.
Keen to find out the lay of the land in the auto industry, Blake called his one-time employer Cam Duffy.
“I wanted to see what was happening and ask Cam what was going on. And he said he had plenty of work and actually had a spot for me,” said Blake. “When I mentioned I was interested he said they’d help me finish my apprenticeship.”
Although Blake had completed a couple of years of his training 20 years ago, he effectively had to start again from scratch.
“It was too long ago, and I was very grateful to be able to go back and do that training again as I have taken quite a bit out of it,” he said.
Today, Blake works on all manner of jobs across many vehicle makes and models, and the end of his light vehicle apprenticeship training is fast approaching. However, he recognises that continual learning, especially in the age of electrification, is a feature of the auto industry in modern times.
“They are going to be a part of the industry,” he said of electrified vehicles. “And I have already spoken to my MTA Institute trainer about it.”
Having once been a business owner, it might be natural to think that Blake might complete his apprenticeship and look to branch out and flex his business muscles once again. However, while he said running a business can be rewarding, it can also take the emphasis away from the work and the satisfaction to be drawn from it.
“I had my own business, and I didn’t really get out of that what I thought I would,” he said. “Being in a workshop with other guys means you’re working with other people and you’re part of a team. And that is really good.”
The MTA Institute Apprentice of the Month is proudly sponsored by Spirit Super.
Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (July 2024)
18 July 2024
