National Apprentice Challenge celebrates excellence

The National Apprentice Challenge, which took place at this year’s Brisbane Truck Show, was the biggest yet with record crowds, a new format that included on-stage interviews from industry leaders, and the first perfect grand final score.

Twelve of the top performing trade apprentices were flown in for an all-expenses trip to the Brisbane Truck Show, competing across the first two days for the ultimate title – Australia’s top apprentice.

This year the format was tweaked to offer more action across a shorter competition, with 12 apprentices nominated by leading technical colleges from around the country competing in teams of two across six heats.

Penske Australia sponsored the competition, providing three of their all-new Western Star X-Series trucks – which opened for orders on day one of the Brisbane Truck Show – for the apprentices to wrench on.

The not-yet-released trucks meant no one team, not even the Penske apprentices, had an unfair advantage because they were the first tradespeople in Australia to work on these new trucks.

“Being a new truck, no-one competing had any experience with it but we made sure everyone got the best technical advice from our team,” Penske Australia national service manager, Shaun Bell said.

“From the perspective of the apprentices though, they all commented on how good it looked and how good the systems were…some even mentioned the space when working on the engine,” he said.

Across the two days, just short of 2000 high-school students came to spectate from no less than 50 schools, alongside punters from the show, offering a record crowd and plenty of applause for the competitors as they worked through a difficult array of faults.

Each heat saw the apprentices tackle nine faults with a point scored for each they successfully repaired, from electrical to air system problems, with a tenth bonus ‘mystery fault’ up for grabs in the grand final round.

Across day one, the six teams familiarised themselves with the trucks but no clear front runner was apparent, with consistent scores recorded across the field.

By day two, however, Brisbane-based Brayden Conaghan from Penske Australia and Lachlan Tate from Brown and Hurley began to edge ahead as they found their feet and put on a brilliant display of team work.

The two third-year apprentices completed the entire fault board in their pre-final run, something that has only been done a few times in National Apprentice Challenge history, scoring them a place in the final.

After the first six 45-minute heats the scores were tallied and the top three teams battled it out in a high-pressure final – where only one team could be crowned winner.

During the 60-minute grand final, Brayden and Lachlan completed the nine faults in record time, gaining a clear lead over the other two teams, before tracking down the mystery fault with 15 minutes still left on the countdown timer.

“I’m pretty proud of us and how well we worked together, because there were time consuming faults, but a lot of our strengths helped us in that final!” Brayden from Penske Australia said.

The dynamic duo were the first ever team to achieve a perfect score in the finals heat, which left judges and spectators in shock as the final bell rang, putting the team in first place with a convincing lead.

“We were hoping to keep them going and didn’t expect to see every fault finished, but they really surprised us. We didn’t think anyone would finish the finals fault board!” Mr Bell said.

“That mystery fault was tricky…they did really well.”

Runners up were Kyle Guy and Ryan Robinson from Followmont Transport, who did the well-known fleet company proud with a second-place trophy to display in the workshop.

Third place was awarded to Nathan Kaker from Penske Australia and Caleb Todd from Cummins South Pacific, who really found their feet in the later stages of the competition to score a place on the podium.

The winning team members each took home an impressive tool pack from sponsors Wurth, as well as an all-expenses paid trip to the Gold Coast 600 courtesy of NTI, awarded on-stage by Penske Australia General Manager of On Highway Product Craig Lee, HVIA Chief Executive Todd Hacking, and Drake Trailers owner John Drake

The competition sent a strong message throughout industry, highlighting the excellent caliber of talent coming up through the road transport trade ranks.

“It was great to see the best of the best from each State compete, and every year I’m blown away by the level of skill these contestants bring – it gets better every single time!” NTI National Development and Technical Manager, Paul Burke said.