Adult apprentice on tractor for award

August 14, 2023 BY Tim Bottams

Varied career: Aaron Roberts’ professional life with vehicles began when he started his apprenticeship as a light vehicle mechanic at 17 years old. Photo: SUPPLIED

WORKING with vehicles since he was three years old, Linton resident Aaron Roberts has tackled larger and larger vehicles in the year since.

Moving from dirt-bikes to light vehicles and now tractors, Mr Roberts’ interest in automotives has seen him announced as a finalist in the 2023 John Deere Technician of the Year Awards.

Nominated in the Service Apprentice of the Year category, he currently works as a technician for Brandt Ballarat where he’s undertaking an apprenticeship as an agricultural diesel mechanic.

He said his eagerness to keep learning could have been a driving factor in his nomination.

“Being an adult apprentice, I’d be a good ambassador for other people my age, late 20s to early 30s, to make a change and broaden their skills and do something different,” he said.

“I started my apprenticeship at Brandt in December last year. Moving from maintenance and repairs on cars to an agricultural diesel role, it’s very different.

“Probably 90 per cent is all new and things I haven’t done before.”

Mr Roberts is one of 21 Australian finalists in the awards and will travel to the organisation’s national headquarters in Brisbane later this month for a second round of trials and judging.

Prior to joining Brandt, he worked as a light vehicle technician for 14 years, first in Melbourne and then at Ballarat Toyota.

Mainly based in the workshop during his previous career, Mr Roberts’ work at Brandt sends him to farms throughout the region from Skipton and Beaufort to Dean and Daylesford.

He said he enjoys the freedom of his current job.

“Being independent onsite without having someone to help you, and figuring something out by yourself is a real self-achievement,” he said.

“The challenge is having to adapt to a completely different environment with different machines. I didn’t grow up on a farm and the first time I drove a tractor was when I went to Brandt.

“This award, if I get it, will definitely help me seek out different roles at the dealership, whichever way I want to go.”