Five Isuzu Trucks technicians are being immersed in a pit crew experience by joining Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) during the V8 Supercars championship.
Second-year apprentice Natalie Williams from Brisbane Isuzu (Archerfield) enjoyed the opportunity to get her hand dirty with the WAU team at the recent Supercars round at Darwin’s Hidden Valley circuit.
Bendigo Isuzu’s Kim Coronacion will attend the Townsville round, Ballart Isuzu’s Tim Davies will attend the Sandown round, Brisbane Isuzu (Burpengary)’s Harry Merryweather will attend the Gold Coast round and Matthew Dinola of Paterson Cheney Victoria will attend the Adelaide round.
Williams says although she is employed in a mechanical workshop, her Supercars experience in the Top End was eye-opening, and she came away feeling very enthused.
“At Brisbane Isuzu we need to work as a team to achieve our goals, and there are a lot of similarities, but the race team is next level working to tight time limits across the weekend and meeting deadlines,” Williams says.
“It is great to feel like you’re a part of the Isuzu family and that they want me to continue to learn and be inspired through opportunities like this. I would recommend to any young woman to have a look at this type of career as it is both unique and rewarding.
“My goal is to stick to the mechanical field and become a foreman or go further into diagnostics,” she says.
WAU is campaigning Ford Mustang GTs with drivers Chaz Mostert and Nick Percat this year and public relations manager Andrew Wiles says it is fantastic to reward young technicians with this opportunity.
“We can pass on the importance of teamwork where everyone has a role, and everyone has a job to do on the day. The likes of Natalie then take that back to the dealership and apply that to improve themselves and the team around them,” Wiles says.
“It is great to have people who come in wanting to know about pretty much everything, who are willing to help and really get their hands dirty.
“Some could be part of our team in the future, but right now it is great to see Natalie and her fellow technicians dedicate themselves to their chosen field,” Wiles says.
Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) aftersales head Brett Stewart says the brand is committed to inspiring young technicians with programs such as a weekend with WAU.
“As well as the pit crew experience, we also hold the Isuzu Australia National Technical skills competition and the Isuzu World Technical Competition, commonly referred to as the I-1 Grand Prix,” Stewart says.
“It’s not only great for Isuzu, but for our dealers and ultimately our customers across the country who benefit from having skilled and enthusiastic technicians working on their trucks,” he says.
With multiple career development pathways, personal education courses, and an inclusive mindset, Isuzu dealerships have proven to be dynamic places of employment for young technicians such as Natalie Williams.
“As Natalie continues to prove, young women should and do have an important place in this industry,” Stewart says.
“Isuzu will provide not only the opportunity to work for a leading truck brand but also rewards like this Supercars weekend for those who aspire to a career as a truck technician.
“It gives us great pleasure to offer our people with positive learning experiences and platforms such as this to showcase what they’re really capable of,” he says.
