What did you want to be when you were a kid?
Started off when I was younger I wanted to be an all black, and then it changed, I wanted to do something like engineering so I had options like marine engineering, mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, all different types.
Why did you become an automotive mechanic?
I love cars, they’ve always been a passion of mine, and there was a poster on the wall at school that said “work on your dream cars” which I thought ‘thats pretty cool’ because you can drive them but you don’t have to fork out the money to pay for them. Its not a badly payed profession either, and there was also the fact of being able to take something apart and make it work when it didn’t, is satisfying.
How old were you when you started steering towards the automotive industry?
At about 13 I decided that that was the way I wanted to head so I set up classes at school that would help me in that field, so Physics and DVC and then once I was old enough to take automotive i took that as well as mechanical engineering to get familiar with all the tools, and then once I reached the age I took gateway once a week I went to ‘Garton Motors’ and did that for about a year.Then an apprenticeship came up at Hammond motors which 6 of us applied for and I got it at the age of 16 and then became a qualified mechanic at the age of 19.
Whats the best part about working at Hammond Motors?
Boss shouts pies on wednesdays, We work on everything, but we do see a lot of brand new car which is better, working on older cars is hard because you spend more time trying to get it fixed rather than replacing the part. you were meant to in the first place because you have to fix everything else thats broken. We also have really good tools everything is up to date,we have really expensive tools that a lot of other mechanics won’t have, and if somethings ever broken, grant will always fix it.
What kind of training have you had since you have been here/
The apprenticeship training that was under MITO, but we also have brand training which is the MAZDA masters which is a certificate you get after a series of training days at the Headquarters is Auckland, We also have FORD Service tech, which is online and we join in with them. WOF training aswell which is held in Waipapa.
What is some of the challenges getting into the Automotive Industry?
You have to have the right attitude. Starting off too you don’t have any tools which you have to get whilst not earning much, and its very hard to live by yourself or even flat. For some apprentices in the work environment you need to be humble because you are the bum boy, you are the apprentice. The best way to view is that your there to help, whether it be cleaning or any other menial task, your there to help. Listening as well, not knowing it all, you need to be teachable.
Who have been your biggest supporters?
Definitley parents, they have helped me heaps, i wouldn’t have been able to start off if I didn’t have somewhere to go back to with reasonable living rates. But there is my boss(Grant) aswell, he’s supported me all the way, he rewards when efforts put in, when i achieve a goal he rewards me for it.
How do you feel about getting a qualification and such a good age?
It’s really good, set me up for life, i’ll always have something to fall back on, if I ever decide to something else if I ever want to come back I’ll be able to come straight back to it because that qualification is there for life.
Any future goals? Have you thought about getting any other qualifications?
Maybe in a year or so I want to do the ATECH qualification. Eventually I’ll be able to move away from the tools.
Whats the hardest job you’ve had to do since you’ve been at Hammond Motors?
I had a CX7 that i had to do a Variable Valve Timing(VVT) gear replacement on, the problem being that another mechanic had taken it apart, stripped it right down, and then he had to go away. So I had to put it back together and I had no idea where anything went, but I managed to do faster than he had taken it apart, I think I was here til about 11pm that night.
Have you ever thought about opening your own business?
I have, maybe in the future, but it’s nice working for a company because you do your hours at thats it, work is work, home is home, when it’s your business it’s a bit different. I do it because i love what i do not because of the money, why add extra stress.
You’ve done your apprenticeship, whats it like having an apprentice under you?
You can definetly see yourself, but you can also see where other mechanics went wrong teaching you and find ways to improve the cycle. When you show them something, you go away and come back and it’s been done right, its very fulfilling, and it shows that the process is working.
Any advice to apprentices now?
Dedicate a year to doing your book work, even if you have book’s left over, you won’t have as many as you did at the start, I had 54 books and I set a goal of doing atleast one a week which meant if I hadn’t finished one by friday, ‘well, no going out on saturday,’ because thats what i had to do. Put your head down! it may feel like a long time but it’s not. The sooner you get the book work done, the sooner you’ll get a pay rise, you’ll have less stress ,your training advisor will be off your back,and your boss will be happy.
to head so I set up classes at school that would help me in that field, so Physics and DVC and then once I was old enough to take automotive i took that as well as mechanical engineering to get familiar with all the tools, and then once I reached the age I took gateway once a week I went to ‘Garton Motors’ and did that for about a year.Then an apprenticeship came up at Hammond motors which 6 of us applied for and I got it at the age of 16 and then became a qualified mechanic at the age of 19.
Whats the best part about working at Hammond Motors?
Boss shouts pies on Wednesdays, We work on everything, but we do see a lot of brand new car which is better, working on older cars is hard because you spend more time trying time trying to get it fixed rather than replacing the part. We also have really good tools everything is up to date,we have really expensive tools that a lot of other mechanics won’t have, and if somethings ever broken, grant will always fix it.
What kind of training have you had since you have been here?
The apprenticeship training that was under MITO, but we also have brand training which is the MAZDA masters which is a certificate you get after a series of training days at the Headquarters is Auckland, We also have FORD Service tech, which is online and we join in with them. WOF training aswell which is held in Waipapa.
you don’t have any tools which you have to get whilst not earning much, and its very hard to live by yourself or even flat. For some apprentices in the work environment you need to be humble because you are the bum boy, you are the apprentice. The best way to view is that your there to help, whether it be cleaning or any other menial task, your there to help. Listening as well, not knowing it all, you need to be teachable.
Who have been your biggest supporters?
Definitley parents, they have helped me heaps, I wouldn’t have been able to start off with if I didn’t have somewhere to go back to with reasonable living rates. But there is my boss(Grant) aswell, he’s supported me all the way, he rewards when efforts put in, when I achieve a goal he rewards me for it.
It’s really good, set me up for life, i’ll always have something to fall back on, if I ever decide to something else if I ever want to come back I’ll be able to come straight back to it because that qualification is there for life.
Any future goals? Have you thought about getting any other qualifications?
Maybe in a year or so I want to do the ATECH qualification. Eventually I’ll be able to move away from the tools.
Whats the hardest job you’ve had to do since you’ve been at Hammond Motors?
I had a CX7 that i had to do a Variable Valve Timing(VVT) gear replacement on, the problem being that another mechanic had taken it apart, stripped it right down, and then he had to go away. So I had to put it back together and I had no idea where anything went, but I managed to do faster than he had taken it apart, I think I was here til about 11pm that night.
Have you ever thought about opening your own business?
I have, maybe in the future, but it’s nice working for a company because you do your hours at thats it, work is work, home is home, when it’s your business it’s a bit different. I do it because i love what i do not because of the money, why add extra stress.
You’ve done your apprenticeship, whats it like having an apprentice under you?
You can definetly see yourself, but you can also see where other mechanics went wrong teaching you and find ways to improve the cycle. When you show them something, you go away and come back and it’s been done right, its very fulfilling, and it shows that the process is working.
Any advice to apprentices now?
Dedicate a year to doing your book work, even if you have book’s left over, you won’t have as many as you did at the start, I had 54 books and I set a goal of doing atleast one a week which meant if I hadn’t finished one by friday, ‘well, no going out on saturday,’ because thats what i had to do. Put your head down! it may feel like a long time but it’s not. The sooner you get the book work done, the sooner you’ll get a pay rise, you’ll have less stress ,your training advisor will be off your back,and your boss will be happy.
Turning a Passion into a Career
Jonathan Henare Toka, aged 20 has come straight out of school and turned his passion into a career. He was Certified with Automotive Qualification at the young age of only 19.