Harden’s very own Tyson Ings was last week awarded with the TAFE NSW Riverina Institute’s Perpetual Award for Highest Achievement in Automotive Light Vehicle Trade for 2021.

The 22-year-old mechanic has been applying his trade for Harden Automotive for the last three years since joining the organisation in 2019, with 2022 set to be his fourth and final year as an apprentice before Tyson is fully qualified.

Tyson is no longer required to complete anymore classes at TAFE but is still required to do 12 months of practical work at Harden Automotive. Tyson attended Murrumburrah High School and upon finishing school was looking for work when the opportunity to join Harden Automotive arose when owners Paul and Sonia Fredericks offered him a position.

“I actually went to Wagga for a couple months looking for work upon finishing school, but nothing really panned out, so I came back home,” Tyson said.

“I was looking for work and first started at Harden Automotive by just cleaning the workshop. Paul and Sonia then offered me an apprenticeship and I said yes straightaway.”

Whilst working full-time as an apprentice for Harden Automotive, Tyson was also required to attend TAFE in Cootamundra one day a week for three years to enhance his skills and knowledge as a mechanic.

“In my first year I went across to Coota TAFE on Tuesday’s and second and third year it was on Thursday’s,” Tyson said.

“During COVID, my TAFE units moved online, which was pretty hard to adapt to. I’d have to go home for half a day from the shop.

“It was good to get across to the TAFE classes and work alongside classmates who had a common interest. Some of the blokes from the dealerships showed me some tricks as they work on those vehicles all the time.”

Paul and Tyson are the sole mechanics at Harden Automotive, working in just a team of three alongside Sonia.

The small team allows Paul and Sonia to communicate with Tyson, whilst providing instant feedback and close mentoring.

“I’d much rather this than a big commercial shop. With just two mechanics you know what each other is doing and we always talk with each other,” Tyson admitted.

A heavy workload enticed Paul and Sonia to hire Tyson in 2019, and none of them have looked back since.

Harden Automotive services about 1000 cars, trucks and bikes a year, roughly about four cars a day, and 800 registrations a year, which means the workshop is always busy.

“I needed someone to help me with the workload. Tyson was originally just employed doing simple things like clean-up,” Paul said.

“But I could see when I asked for things around the shop that Tyson had a great attention to detail.

If I picked up an electric drill, automatically he’d go and pick up an electric lead without asking.

“I just could see what was going on. Tyson looked very switched on and wanted to work. A lot of kids play on their phones, are not interested and stare into space. I’m not interested in babysitting.

Tyson wanted to have a go. “Apart from breaking his foot, he hasn’t had a sick day since he started.

“As far as apprentices go, especially in this day and age, he’s going very well. There are periods where you have your highs and your lows, but Tyson’s picked things up very quickly. “His responsibilities have increased each year and because it’s a small team you have to pull your weight. There’s no one else to hand off those jobs to.

“We’ve had some apprentices before Tyson, one was a good one in Todd Manwaring.”

Harden Automotive has now produced two winners of TAFE NSW’s Highest Achievement in Automotive Light Vehicle Trade award, the first back in 2009 when Todd Manwaring won the award. The Perpetual Award for Highest Achievement in Automotive Light Vehicle Trade was handed to Tyson last Friday at the Harden Automotive workshop by Cootamundra TAFE teacher Ian Kemp. Kemp and John, who maintains the store at the Coota TAFE, and decided Tyson was fit for the award due to his outstanding practical aspect.“Tyson really stood out above the rest in the practical side of things.

He wasn’t scared to have a go at anything.

During theory, we had to crank him on a little bit, as we have to with most boys, but he was way ahead of the rest in practical.

It didn’t matter what vehicle it was; Tyson could do it,” Kemp said.

Kemp recommends Tyson to complete his RMS to complete registration checks, as well as an extension on the diesel course, upon completing his apprenticeship this year.

Tyson’s ability to work on all makes on cars at Harden Automotive excelled and fast-tracked his learning, whilst others in the class were shoehorned into working on just one car make.

“The best mechanics come out of a marketplace like this where you’re working on multiple vehicles,” Kemp said.

Along with the trophy, Tyson received a $100 cheque, framed certificate, and a boat cleaning kit.

“I’ve had a good teacher in Paul. There’s been a lot of hands on the tools which really got me focused into things,” Tyson said.

“Learning new things about different vehicles everyday has been exciting.” In his three years as an apprentice, Tyson has picked up invaluable experience, but has always faced some challenges.

“There’s lots of thing to remember. Where everything goes and little bolts and all of those kinds of things.”

Both Paul and Sonia are eager to keep Tyson on in the business well after he completes his apprenticeship later this year.

“I hope he stays on. We’ve put a lot of time and training into Tyson in his first few years. Tyson’s productivity has gone up, but at the end of four years, yes, you’re qualified, but you still don’t know it all,” Paul said.

“It takes a few more years before you really start learning a few more things. It’s a four-year apprenticeship but you’re pretty green after four years. I’ve been in the game 35 years and am still learning things.”

Owners Paul and Sonia Fredericks are extremely proud of their apprentice, who has once again shined a glowing light on their Harden Automotive business.

“We’d like to congratulate Tyson. We’re very, very proud of him. The award is also a bit of payback to us, and especially to Paul, because he is the one who’s been teaching him day in day out,” Sonia said.

“At the end of the day, for such a small community and town, it actually shows that kids don’t have to leave town always to do a trade and you don’t have to come from the biggest cities to achieve awards like this.

“I guess that’s the biggest thing. It’s a big thing for Harden, it’s a big thing for Tyson, it’s a big thing for us.”

Tim Warren