The country’s largest employer of mechanical engineering apprentices, Apprentice Training New Zealand (ATNZ) is excited to announce applications are now open for their highly coveted Apprentice of the Year Award.

ATNZ General Manager Susanne Martin said the award is open to all apprentices in their second year or more of mechanical engineering training who have signed a current training agreement with ATNZ and recognises the skills and talent of an exceptional all-rounder.

This is the third year of the awards for ATNZ, a not-for-profit group training organisation that employs more than 340 engineering apprentices and places them with host companies around New Zealand.

“This award celebrates an ATNZ apprentice who is not only a high performer thriving in their apprenticeship, but also has an outstanding attitude. They are proactive in their work, particularly around health and safety, and show obvious enjoyment in what they do,” Ms Martin said.

Along with being crowned ATNZ Apprentice of the Year, the winner will receive $1,000 of tools and a $1,000 JBHiFi voucher – doubling the value of the prize pool of previous years.

Ms Martin said applications come from across all spheres of the engineering trade. She believes the unprecedented challenges of 2020 will have further spotlighted extraordinary future tradies.

“Every year we’re blown away by the calibre of applications, and the obvious talent we are nurturing as we grow the next generation of Kiwi tradespeople. 

With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, now more than ever, we need success stories to celebrate. We know during the lockdown and restart, what assets our apprentices have been to our host companies. That’s why we ask host companies to recognise the valuable contribution they have made to their workplaces and encourage their learners to apply,” Ms Martin said.

Applications must be received by no later than 5 pm on Friday 09 October 2020. The winner and runner-up will be announced at a ceremony in November. Full details, judging criteria, application tips and terms and conditions are available on the application form, which can be found at atnz.org.nz.

Fitting and machining apprentice Perrie Thomas, of Reporoa, won the award in 2019 said it was great recognition of what he had achieved so far, as well as confirmation he was on the right career path.

The winner of the inaugural award, Caleb Orotaunga, initially enrolled to study engineering at university before switching to an ATNZ apprenticeship. He graduated with a National Certificate in Mechanical Engineering in June this year.