Another incredible Apprentice evening down, and perhaps the best one yet! On March 21, we held our annual Apprentice Welcome and Graduation Evening at the dealership to welcome our new apprentices to the team and celebrate our recently graduated technicians.

Our staff, new and graduating apprentices and their families, as well as industry guests, were invited to the dealership for a night of great food and a few drinks whilst celebrating the apprentices who have completed their qualification and acknowledging the first years that are starting out on their journeys to become tradespeople.

As guests arrived, they were greeted by the absolutely mouthwatering smell of Amore Catering’s wood-fired pizzas and famous char-grilled meat skewers being cooked.

Staff and guests took the opportunity to move around our showroom and chat before formalities started. This is always the perfect chance for our new apprentices to introduce their families to the team they are working with and their managers, as well as show them around the business.

We also find this event is a great way for our new staff, in our ever-growing business, to see for the first time the kind of celebrations and events we hold to celebrate our team’s achievements.

Kane Cheng, CMV Truck Centre Service Operations Manager, kicked off the night by officially welcoming all our valued guests, including the significant presence of industry representatives from TAFE SA and Cummins.

Kane provided guests an insight into his career from when he started as an apprentice himself, and how his career has progressed at CMV Truck Centre over the years, as well as a rundown of how the Service Department runs including the various teams and work our technicians and apprentices are exposed to.

He then continued on with some extremely valuable advice for our new apprentices in regard to how to live by the CMV Group’s Values, not only at work, but in day-to-day life, saying “As part of the CMV Truck Centre family, we adhere to a set of core values that define who we are as a company.”

“We expect and encourage our new apprentices here tonight to commit to these values and hope that they recognise their importance in keeping our working environment safe and welcoming for all employees. These core Values are: Safety First, Can Do, Ask the Question, Do the Right Thing, and Mutual Respect,” Kane continued.

“Let us all commit to upholding these Values, not just today, but every day. Let us lead by example, inspire others, and leave a legacy that reflects the best of who we are and what we stand for. Together, we can build a future where safety, integrity, curiosity, and respect are not just ideas to aspire to, but realities to be lived.”

Bryan Brown, CMV Truck Centre Technical Training Manager, then took to stage and spoke in detail about the apprentice program and what they will experience throughout their 4-year commitment.

“Our goal is to continue to provide the best programs in the automotive industry and producing highly-skilled, all-rounder technicians by rotating the apprentices through several teams within the workshop such as electrical, engine rebuild, Kenworth and DAF to give a wide range of experience during their time as an apprentice and offering OEM training opportunities.”

Seven First Year Apprentices began their apprenticeship with us this year, and Bryan provided an insight into each individual and their interest in our incredible industry, as he welcomed them to stage.

Welcome to our First Year Diesel Technician Apprentices –

• Leonidas Kontogerogis
• Matthew Ward
• Porsha Willis
• Max Bentley
• Darren Martin
• Tyson Joeseph
• Jay Walters

We were then extremely excited as for the first time, we have introduced a new segment to our Apprentice Evening – Apprentice of the Year. Apprentices are selected from each year level based on their efforts and attitude over the last 12 months and their standout performances and dedication within their teams. Each awarded apprentice was presented with a $250 tooling voucher and certificate.

Congratulations to our Apprentices of the Year –

• 2nd Year Apprentice of the Year – Rex Catford
• 3rd Year Apprentice of the Year – Brock Wise
• 4th Year Apprentice of the Year – Blake Cook

After congratulating our Apprentice of the Year winners, we were extremely proud to recognise our graduating apprentices who had successfully completed their Technician Apprenticeships.

Bryan spoke on each individual graduate, and congratulated them on their commitment throughout the program. Each graduate was also presented with a certificate and trophy, as well as a $1,000 tooling voucher.

Congratulations to our Graduating Apprentices -

Hayden Melnik - Heavy Commercial Vehicle Diesel Apprenticeship

Throughout Hayden’s time with CMV Truck Centre, he has progressed into a successful and confident technician. Working with several different teams, he has developed a wide skill set, assisting to complete engine and gearbox rebuilds as well as gaining his air conditioning licence. Now that Hayden has completed his trade, he has decided to further his education by signing up for a dual trade auto electrician apprenticeship. He has been working within the electrical team recently and enjoys assisting them with fault finding and diagnosing a wide range of issues.

Josh Melhop – Heavy Commercial Vehicle Diesel Apprenticeship

Josh grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand where he completed year 12 and then went onto a Light Vehicle Mechanical trade with Toyota. Following this, Josh moved to Australia and started working for CMV Truck Centre in 2022 after being referred by his cousin who also worked within the CMV Group. Josh has successfully gained his Certificate III Heavy Diesel Mechanical trade after completing an RPL process as his previous qualifications gained in New Zealand was not recognised. The RPL process required him to demonstrate his competency by showing evidence of job cards and photographs of his work, as well as testimonials from previous supervisors.

Matthew Henderson – Auto Electrical Technology Apprenticeship (dual trade)

Matt started with CMV Truck Centre in 2013 as an Apprentice at 18 years of age and qualified as a Mechanic at 22. After qualifying, he worked within our DAF team for 3 years before deciding to take on a second trade as an auto electrician. Matt has proven himself as a reliable and effective technician throughout his apprenticeship with both the DAF and Kenworth products, and in doing so became a finalist in the 2020 PACCAR Technician of the Year competition, placing 3rd overall. Matt has again made it to the finals of the PACCAR Tech of the Year competition for the DAF product, and we are extremely proud of this achievement. Matt continues to demonstrate our values with his positive attitude and is a pivotal part of the team.

Congratulations again to all of our Graduates!

In completing their qualification, these graduates are now proficiently skilled and have the experience and capability to take on all repairs in our industry.

Finally, Rob Baumann, CMV Truck Centre Parts Operations Manager, took to stage to introduce our new apprentice in our Parts Department, as well as providing our guests with an understanding into the Parts Apprentice Program and the skills they will gain throughout this period.

Welcome to our First Year Parts Apprentice –

• Mitchell Dansie

As our formalities drew to a close, staff and guests were encouraged to stick around, mingle for a while longer and enjoy another drink and some more food.

Thank you to all who joined us for another wonderful Annual Apprentice Night - we are sure you’ll agree it was a night to remember!

To view all the photos of the evening, please visit our Facebook page.
To find out more about our Apprenticeship Program and apply for our next intake, tap here.