Lily Armstrong from Albany Creek Auto Centre has been awarded the Leading Edge Scholarship valued at $3490 and Angela Jones from ASR Collision Specialists gets the Executive Ready Scholarship valued at $8490.
The two first round recipients of the 2023 Auto Women Scholarships have been announced by the Motor Trades Association of Queensland (MTA Queensland) which sponsors the scholarships alongside Spirit Super, and Women & Leadership Australia.
The scholarships aim to support the career advancement of women working across the automotive industry through two, fully funded, high-impact training programs.
The first course, Leading Edge, is designed to assist females in early-career positions transition into confident, capable, and motivated leaders. the scholarship going to Lily Armstrong, an apprentice mechanic from Albany Creek Auto Centre, says MTA Queensland.
“Inspired by her father, a fitter and turner by trade, Lily began a school-based traineeship back in 2019,” it explains.
“After graduation, she continued working as a trade assistant, before taking on her light vehicle apprenticeship.
“Now, at just 20-years old, Lily is nearing the final year of her training, and has found her place at Albany Creek Auto Centre, constantly supported and encouraged by those around her.”
Armstrong hopes to use the Leading Edge program to further her career and develop new leadership skills.
“My goal is to one day become a workshop manager and supervisor,” she says.
“In such a male dominated industry, it is amazing to see so many women taking on leadership roles and making a name for themselves.
“This scholarship is an amazing opportunity to invest in young women and help them better equip themselves to be future leaders, and I hope to use its teachings to do just that!”
The second course, Executive Ready, is designed to stretch mid-level leaders and propel them towards executive-level positions, bolstering skills and mindsets – the scholarship going to ASR Collision Specialists manager Angela Jones.
After 12 years of owning and managing her own mechanical workshop in Cairns, Jones sold the business in 2008, says MTA Queensland.
“Having her Bachelor of Economics Degree, Graduate Program, and Cert IV in Accounting, Angela completed contract bookkeeping for a variety of businesses before becoming the Finance Officer at a solar company who controlled 24 entities across Australia.”
Jones began working in the accounts team at ASR Collision Specialists in 2016 and stepped into the manager’s role in 2021, where she oversees a range of operations in the business and leads a diverse mix of people.
“I am a firm believer in lifelong learning and know that the knowledge I will gain from this scholarship will not only benefit me personally, but my entire team,” says Jones.
“I stepped into the role during a time of COVID-19 chaos and navigated the company through challenging times to achieve an unprecedented financial milestone for the company last month.
“I understand there is a difference between management and leadership and hope to use the Executive Ready program to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to create the right environment so that both the company and its people can thrive.”
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