Gearing Up
From a young age, Alex Parker has had his heart set on a career with cars. "Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been fascinated with cars," he recalls. By the age of four or five, he had already made up his mind about becoming a mechanic.
"I did the gateway programme through school, which led to a job at Geartech. I worked a few years before starting up my apprenticeship," he explains.
His work at Geartech involves a mix of routine tasks and specialised technical work. "We specialise in manual gearboxes and also in diffs and transfers. On a normal day, we do services or warrants, but then there's also the technical stuff like gearboxes, clutches, and rebuilds."
His lifelong passion for the automotive industry is evident in his enthusiasm for his work. "All of it is pretty good – everything that I do is quite enjoyable," he shares.
Alex has now successfully completed his New Zealand Certificate in Light Automotive Engineering (Level 3 and 4) through MITO.
Reflecting on his training with MITO, he says, "It was good, pretty straightforward. I did muck around for a bit, as boys do, but once I got my head into gear and got stuck into doing the work, it went well."
He speaks highly of the support he received from his training advisor, Lee. "He's a nice guy. I enjoyed having him as my [MITO] Training Advisor. If I was ever confused about anything, I’d just give him a ring and he’d point me in the direction I needed to go."
The support from his colleagues and manager at Geartech has also been really positive. "They didn't know too much about what I was doing, because most of the guys did their training 20-25 years ago. But showing them what I'm doing now, kind of opens their eyes to not only what they were doing back then, but new developments as well like electric vehicles."
Alex is keen on furthering his education, particularly in electric vehicle (EV) training. "I want to get fully qualified in the EV side of it. We are getting more and more EVs coming in, so having someone trained is essential to keep up with the industry."
He plans to continue studying and advancing his skills. "They’re introducing hydrogen vehicles now so I’m keeping an eye out for any training on that! I'll probably go into Light Automotive Engineering (Level 5) as well."
Alex encourages others interested in cars to consider a career in the automotive industry. "It's definitely a good industry to be in, I recommend it for anyone who likes cars. I’m keen to learn more!”
