Known for her international award wins, and industry success, Maxine Colligan is a name you may have heard of before.
NCR sat down with Maxine to discuss her rollercoaster journey in the automotive industry, and why she would encourage the next generation of females to consider a career in repair.
From struggling for seven months to find a workshop to take her on for work experience, to winning international awards for spray painting a few years later, Maxine Colligan has established herself as a leading figure for females in the industry.
With a resilient nature and a determination to prove she was on the right track, Maxine started her spray painting apprenticeship at TAFE NSW Campbelltown in 2016 under the guidance of TAFE teacher and industry veteran, Carl Tinsley.
“People in my life were sceptical about me joining the industry at first. When I told them I wanted to do a spray-painting apprenticeship, they looked at me like I’d grown a second head,” Maxine says.
“People would ask why, and I would turn around and say why not. Little did they know the opportunities that it would bring; the medals, and overseas trips, it’s been great.”
“I’ve had an above ordinary experience in this trade and I think if the people in my life knew that from day one, I would have received a different reaction initially.”
During her four-year apprenticeship Maxine worked with the AMA Group in Milperra, where she stayed until mid 2020.
From there, Maxine scored a job at ARB, where she further enhanced her spray-painting skills, by joining their colour coding team.
Equipped with nine years of spray-painting experience, Maxine was ready to embark on a new pathway within the industry and tackle new challenges. In 2022, Maxine completed a Certificate 4 in training and assessment at TAFE, which allowed her to dabble in teaching.
“Last year I ended up teaching at my old TAFE, Campbelltown. It was cool to be on the other side of things,” Maxine says.
“I taught a seven-weeknight class which covered spray painting fundamentals. The people who were enrolled were typically an older crowd, so everyone wanted to be there and learn which was great to see.”
Finding new pathways
With a growing desire to learn a new skill and shake things up, Maxine shifted her focus to learning a new side of the industry, sales.
Maxine now works at Wallaby Crash Supplies in New South Wales as a sales representative in their automotive team.
“When I first started my apprenticeship, I thought I would be a spray painter for decades to come. Having the opportunity to try a new career in the same industry is amazing,” Maxine says.
“I wanted a change, so I thought I would give sales a go and see what happens.”
Maxine is six months into her new sales role and is enjoying the ‘seamless transition’.
“Being in sales you get to see so many different people and shops. You get to form a relationship,” Maxine says.
“The industry is quite small so it’s great to reconnect with people. You can get to know people on a personal level.”
Positive mentorship and guidance can often make all the difference as to whether someone commits long term to the rewarding, yet challenging and testing repair industry. Luckily for Maxine, her new boss, Kate Zovi is the exact encouragement she needed in her new venture.
“Kate is amazing and does so much for the company and for the women that work for her. She’s has been a massive rock for all of us,” Maxine says.
“She always supports me and links me up with people who can help. It definitely wasn’t a case of diving into the deep end, which I am really appreciative of.”
Maxine’s transition, however, didn’t come without some initial hesitation.
“I was so nervous to begin with because I have never sold anything to anyone before. But Kate was so reassuring and reminded me that I have all the prior knowledge of the products and what they can do,” Maxine says.
Representation in the industry
Nearly hitting the decade milestone in her career, Maxine reflects on the challenges she encountered along the way. Maxine identifies one key realisation about the industry that took her a while to wrap her head around.
“I didn’t realise how alone I was. And I mean that in the sense of how male dominated the industry is,” Maxine says.
“The women are few and far between and when I was starting out, I didn’t know anyone, let alone any women in the industry.”
Finding a community within the industry was also a challenge for Maxine. However, online communities provided the support and connections she was after. In particular, a former heavy diesel mechanic, Louise Azzopardi, formed a Facebook group, and podcast for females in male dominated trades. Louise has been a key supporter of Maxine.
“I would often go home from work feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated and unsure of my career. Having Louise there to reassure me that my feelings were normal and that everything would work out was really helpful,” Maxine says.
“I’ve met the majority of my female friends in the industry online, through Facebook groups.”
While the support for females in trade has risen and gained momentum, there is still a push to create a community for females in the collision repair industry.
“A lot of groups online come from females in construction and industries like that, not necessarily females in collision,” Maxine says.
Challenges
In the early days of her career, Maxine noted that being a female was a discouraging factor for numerous workshops that hesitated to bring her on board for work experience.
“It took me seven months to get an apprenticeship when I first started,” Maxine says.
“For an industry that is very short staffed, you would think they would be open to apprentices.”
During her first year at TAFE, Maxine handed out numerous resumes to workshops, and constantly got knocked back.
“I was told ridiculous things like ‘we don’t have a female bathroom here that’s why we can’t employ you’”,” Maxine says.
One shop that rejected Maxine’s application claimed they were fully staffed and had no room for an apprentice. Only a few months later, the same shop hired half of her pre-vocational class. Later, when she heard her classmates’ experiences at the shop, it seemed as though Maxine dodged a bullet, but better still, she gained a resilience that would benefit her for years to come.
“On one hand its discouraging to receive so many setbacks, but on the other it really was a blessing in disguise,” Maxine says.
“Shops that will put the time into you and your training are out there and are definitely worth it.”
International recognition and awards
With all of the opportunities that have come her way, Maxine celebrates the industry for all it has to offer.
“It’s never been just spray painting which is really cool,” Maxine says.
The industry even facilitated Maxine’s first overseas trip in 2019. After winning the regional and national WorldSkills Competitions in Australia, Maxine qualified for the International WorldSkills Competition.
Taking every opportunity in her stride, Maxine travelled to Kazan, Russia in 2019 for the WorldSkills competition.
“My first overseas trip was to Russia of all places!” Maxine says.
“Russia was definitely a culture shock. They had airport-like security just to go into a supermarket.”
Maxine highlighted her time in Russia as one of her career highlights thus far. Winning three medals in Russia, Maxine brought home more than just her achievements.
Maxine won the Best in Nation award, and was awarded a bronze medal for Vehicle Painting, and a silver medal in the Sustainability award.
Looking to the future
Happy with her new role in sales, Maxine is content with her progress so far but isn’t ruling out getting back on the tools.
“I don’t know exactly what the future holds, but I wouldn’t rule out going back to spray painting,” Maxine says.
Maxine is focussed not only on helping other females enter the industry, but also helping them navigate the industry once they find themselves immersed in the challenges of the industry. Maxine’s advice is simple, yet sometimes all you need when starting a new chapter.
“I would love to be able to help people pick the right workshop for them, not necessarily the one that is closest to them,” Maxine says.
“Don’t let people tell you that you can’t do something. You have to know what you want and go after it, regardless of what other people think.”
