Scholarship Success a Fitting Tribute
Receiving a 2017 Clyde Cunningham QSM Memorial scholarship means a great deal to 32-year-old automotive refinisher, Bevan Bullot from Greenmeadows Panel & Paint, Napier.
Established in honour of the late Clyde Cunningham, a long-standing MITO employee, the scholarship, which is awarded to a MITO automotive graduate in the Hawke's Bay region, pays for the first year fees for MITO’s Level 5 automotive programme or MITO’s National Certificate in Business (First Line Management) (Level 4) qualification.
Teaching our apprentices, showing them how to do something and watching them progress, is what I particularly enjoy about my job. It’s an extremely important part of the job too as we’re responsible for training a new generation of young people entering the industry and helping them to get qualified.
Bevan Bullot - 2017 MITO Clyde Cunningham QSM Memorial scholarship recipient
Now, after 13 years in the industry, Bevan has honed his refinishing skills on everything from cars, trucks and motorcycles to boats and even rescue helicopters. “I’ve been around awhile now and have had the opportunity to learn from a lot of talented people,” says Bevan.Bevan’s passion for the industry developed after a chance encounter helping his uncle paint a motor home in his backyard. “I was working as a pilot vehicle driver at the time, but after giving my uncle a hand with that job, it really sparked my interest in the trade. From then on, I knew it was what I wanted to do.”Bevan says it was a fitting tribute for him to be able to honour Clyde’s memory by furthering his training in the industry and completing the First Line Management programme. “I owe him a lot and it’s nice for me to be able to have that connection with Clyde and progress my skills and knowledge in order to give back to the industry in his memory.” “I was over the moon when I found out I had received the scholarship,” says Bevan. “I completed my refinishing apprenticeship back in 2008 when Clyde was my MITO Industry Training Advisor. I remember him being firm but fair with me – he kept me on task and I really responded well to the way he encouraged me to succeed.”
With his wide-ranging experience, Bevan is now able to pass his knowledge on to others. “Teaching our apprentices, showing them how to do something and watching them progress, is what I particularly enjoy about my job. It’s an extremely important part of the job too as we’re responsible for training a new generation of young people entering the industry and helping them to get qualified.”
Not content with all that he has learned to date, Bevan applied for the scholarship to push himself further and gain more of an understanding of the business from an employer’s point of view. “You’re never done learning,” says Bevan. “One day, when the opportunity arises, I’d really like to progress my career into management of the workshop and this training programme will definitely help me get there. It has not only given me the opportunity to achieve that goal, but, with a young family, the scholarship has helped financially too.”
Greenmeadows Panel & Paint director, Tony Carson, is delighted with Bevan’s scholarship success and knows that he’s ready to take his career to the next level. “Bevan’s extremely driven, with a very high work ethic. He wants to be the best in his trade and he is certainly on the right road to achieving that. This scholarship is well deserved and I’m sure Clyde would have been very proud.”
