BOP Polytechnic graduate picks up Apprentice of the Year award
Friday 2 December 2011, 10:46AM
By Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology
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Around 250 people attended the Bay of Plenty Times - Motor Trade Association (MTA) Tauranga Awards last Saturday evening at the Classic Flyers museum.
The MTA is 94 years young and is one of New Zealand’s largest trade associations, representing more than 4000 automotive related businesses covering repair workshops, vehicle sales and service stations.
The Awards were broken down into 12 different categories, with Bay of Plenty Polytechnic sponsoring the Apprentice of the Year Award. Three apprentices (and Polytechnic automotive graduates) were in contention - Sean Coombes and Ethan Gunn from Farmer Motor Group and John Nak from Georges Auto Services. John narrowly took out the honours much to the delight of the crowd.
Sean Squires, Automotive Group Leader at the Polytechnic said “It was a fantastic night and great to be on hand to present the apprentice of the year award to John.”
The Polytechnic offers automotive and apprenticeship training in the Bay of Plenty region and is a proud sponsor and supporter of the MTA awards.
“It’s quite ironic as the three nominees were all Bay of Plenty Polytechnic automotive graduates so it’s great to see them doing well in the automotive industry,” said Sean.
MTA Tauranga branch president Mike Deane said he was pleased with the outcome of the evening. “I’m very pleased with the outcome and the calibre of sponsors that want to be involved. We will look to run this event again next year.”
Award winners:
• Best Service Station Award, sponsored by Classic Hits, Shell Bethlehem.
• Best Automotive Technician Award, sponsored by Repco, Blair Brookbanks Farmer Motor Group.
• Best Parts Person Award, sponsored by Castrol, Ryan Middleton Repco Tauranga.
• Best Office Administrator Award, sponsored by SAM Computer Systems, Richelle Erickson Papamoa Automotive Service Centre.
• Best Marketing Concept Award, sponsored by AMP, Darryn Woodward Bayride Motorcycles Ltd.
• Best Sales Person Award, sponsored by MTA, Mike Mercep Repco Fraser Cove.
• Best Service Manager Award, sponsored by BNT, Ray Mayos Sheaff Vehicles Ltd.
• Best Small Business Award (up to 4 employees), sponsored by Century Batteries, Sandra Phillips, Phillips Garage.
• Best Medium Business Award (5 to 10 employees), sponsored by Telecom, Dion Mair DM Auto Services.
• Best Specialist Repairer, sponsored by Phil's Place, Mike Stanwell, Smith & Boyle Automotive Body Repairs.
• Supreme Business Award, sponsored by Bay of Plenty Times, Mike Stanwell.
For more Bay of Plenty Polytechnic news, visit their website.