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Is a career in Automotive right for you?
If you’re obsessed with trucks and new technology, you’ll fit right in at CAL Isuzu!

Did you live for playing with toy trucks as a kid?
Do you get a buzz from seeing a truck and trailer driving down the road?
Are you fascinated by how trucks work and the loads they can carry?
Do you want to work with like-minded people who share your passion?

If we’ve just described you, read on!

CAL Isuzu, based in Hamilton, is an industry leader selling more Isuzu trucks in New Zealand than all the other dealers combined. There’s always plenty going on and lots of trucks moving around, so it’s a great place to work for anyone interested in heavy vehicles.

The FutureForce® Team caught up with Heavy Diesel Mechanic Level 4 apprentices Sam Matherson, former St John’s College student, and Alex Noble, former Morrinsville College student to find out more.

Sam Matherson and
Alex Noble

Heavy Diesel mechanic
Level 4 apprentices

A Chat with Sam and Alex about their roles

How did you both get started in this line of work?

Sam: After I left school, I did a mechanics course at Wintec. I did some work experience with my uncle who’s also a diesel mechanic and I really liked that. I approached CAL for some work experience while I was at Wintec and ended up doing an apprenticeship.

Alex: I started off as a heavy diesel mechanic in Thames and now I’m here!

What have you learnt on the job so far?

Alex: Diagnosing and fixing vehicles.

Sam: Everything from servicing to big jobs like a gearbox overhaul.

What's your advice for someone getting started in the world of work?

Sam: Try and get some work experience to find out what you like before you’re set on a pathway. Always take photos of your work. You need them on your apprenticeship paperwork and it’s good to have a portfolio to show potential employers.

Alex: Front up to an employer and ask for work experience. It shows you have the skills and ambition that the boss is looking for.

What are your future career ambitions?

Alex: Get qualified.

Sam: Start my own business.

What school subjects do you recommend for this type of work?

Maths
Workshop and practical subjects
Automotive

A Day in the Life

7.30am

Start the day with a cup of coffee. We open up the big workshop roller doors and check in with our foreman to see what we’re working on that day. It might be a new project or something that’s carried over from the day before. The foreman assigns jobs to each team member.

10am

Take a break – grab a cup of coffee and catch up with the team.

10.30am

Back to work.

We work on things like:

Inspection of heavy vehicles to diagnose a problem
Servicing heavy vehicles
Warrant of Fitness repairs
Parts repairs
General maintenance of truck fleets

1pm

Take a break for lunch… and another coffee!

1.30pm

On the tools again, finishing up projects for the afternoon. The number of jobs we do each day really ranges depending on what’s happening. Some bigger jobs can take a few days to finish where some might only take a couple hours.

4.30pm

We write up the ‘job story’ for each job we’ve worked on that day, detailing what we did and how long it took. There’s sometimes a bit of paperwork to fill in like timesheets and such.