HVIA Apprentice of the Year Award

The Heavy Vehicle Industry Awards were held in Brisbane last Friday and in the Apprentice of the Year category, 22-year-old Hunter Tapping took the top honours.

Brown and Hurley had two national finalists: Hunter Tapping (Yatala) and Simon Flynn (Kyogle).

This is a national award open to all heavy vehicles (trucks and trailers) which makes this a phenomenal achievement by both gentlemen.

A spokesman for Brown and Hurley said the company couldn’t be more proud of its young mechanics. “A fantastic effort for both Hunter and Simon, and congratulations also to all other finalists,” he said.

Hunter Tapping was obviously ecstatic to receive the award saying: “I’ve been involved in the industry since I was 17 fresh out of school.

“I have been with the Brown and Hurley group for five years now and have not looked back. I’ve always had a passion for the industry and aim to for many years to come,” he said.

“I love the wide range of jobs there are in the workshop, whether it be a clutch, transmission or engine rebuild, there is always something different and always plenty to learn, I also enjoy participating in the on-call after-hours breakdown roster, where we are called out at any time of night to attend a broken-down truck to keep customers happy and the freight moving!

“This award means a lot to me as it recognises the hard work and effort that’s been put in over the last four years of my apprenticeship and also hopefully gives new apprentices the drive to get in and have a go and work hard and enjoy what they do, and be rewarded for it,” Hunter concluded.