A small country town and hours of commuting time are no barrier to one of the automotive industry’s best and brightest future stars.
Badgingarra, 200 kilometres north of Perth and with a population of only 173, is home to Badgingarra (Badgy) Motors, where the latest Capricorn Rising Star Megan Toia is employed as a second-year apprentice.
The coveted Capricorn Rising Star for 2024 recognises and rewards outstanding apprentices in the automotive aftermarket industry and Megan is no exception.
As an indicator of her commitment, she travels every day the 60km from her hometown of Moora for her work and regularly makes the 200km trip to South Perth for her TAFE studies.
Capricorn noted Megan’s passion for the industry, her love of learning and her constant pursuit of excellence impressed the multiple rounds of judges from among 300 nominations.
Her boss at Badgingarra Motors, Harry Burgess, was also glowing in his praise for her motivation and enthusiasm.
“Megan is a great asset to my business,” Harry says. “She applies pressure to herself to complete her tasks to the highest standards and she is very thorough. She is a fast learner who follows instructions, can work independently and takes constructive advice well,” Harry says.
Megan aims the prominence of 2024 Capricorn Rising Stars Overall Winner to advocate for the need for more support to encourage apprentices from regional communities like her own to enter the automotive aftermarket industry.
“Coming from a small rural town, there weren’t many apprenticeship opportunities, especially for women. After working in a recycling centre that offered me no long-term career prospects, I saw an advertisement for an apprentice at Badgingarra Motors.”
Her journey so far
“As I have always loved cars and learning about how they worked, while also loving problem solving and getting my hands dirty, this apprenticeship has proven to be perfect for me.”
“Harry has been very patient, he has walked me though all of the mistakes that I have made and has been incredibly supportive throughout my exciting automotive apprenticeship journey,” Megan said.
Future plans
Megan plans to become fully qualified at Badgingarra Motors and after a couple of years she plans to gain a heavy diesel trade qualification upgrade by working in the mining industry.
Megan’s ultimate ambition is to open her own automotive service and repair business, with the goal of employing people that typically aren’t well represented in the industry, creating a safe space for them, as she has found at Badgingarra Motors.
Capricorn Group CEO Designate Brad Gannon congratulated Megan on her win.
“Megan is an outstanding young apprentice and a very worthy winner of our Rising Stars Award. She certainly has a bright future in the automotive industry,” Brad says.
“Thank you to the 300 plus Capricorn Members who nominated their talented apprentices in this year’s Award. We had nominations from all over Australia and New Zealand, showing the breadth of talent in our industry,” Brad says.
The Capricorn Rising Stars Award is made possible thanks to the generous sponsors; Castrol, Repco and The Workshop Whisperer.