The Capricorn Rising Stars Award is the confidence boost every apprentice needs

An interview with first-ever Rising Stars Winner, Mark Smith

Mark, an auto-electrician with The Battery Terminal in Belconnen, Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory, was the first-ever winner of the Capricorn Rising Stars Award, in 2018.

At the time, his prizes included an all-expenses-paid trip to the Gold Coast to watch the Supercars race and a customer service training package from The Workshop Whisperer for The Battery Terminal—his parents’ business. But the real prize was something far less tangible.

“I got a lot more respect from a lot of peers and from the businesses that we deal with,” Mark said. “But the main thing for me was just the confidence from knowing that everyone had respect for me at such a young age. It allowed me to learn off a lot of other people who wouldn’t normally talk to an apprentice from another workshop. Business owners of other mechanical shops were actually talking to me about electrical problems, rather than always going straight to Dad."

“So, that’s one of the biggest things Rising Stars gave me—just the confidence. Now I’m sort of second in charge, and in charge when Dad’s not there, and it’s definitely given me the confidence to do that.”

It’s a boost Mark said every business owner can give their apprentice by nominating them for this year’s Capricorn Rising Stars Award. Nominations are now open for 2024 and Mark said he believed the simple act of nominating an apprentice could deliver the kind of confidence boost that winning the award gave to him.

“Don’t be shy to nominate your apprentice,” he said. “Even if they don’t think they will win it, the confidence it will give them is something that you can’t give them during the workday,” he said. “I don’t think you can say ‘good job’ or ‘great work’ enough to give an apprentice the confidence that this sort of thing can give some young people, especially ones that show initiative and are passionate about their job."

“Just nominate them, because that will mean the world to these young people coming through our industry. Nominate them, because it’s all worth it and it’ll be a massive confidence boost for them.”

That confidence might just be the kind of gold dust that both promising young apprentices, and our industry, need to help us retain talent. In the State of the Nation Special Report: The

Skills Shortage, 22% of Members told us finding a good apprentice was a challenge—up eight percentage points on the previous year.

Members identified problems with both attention and retention of talent. Six in 10 believed auto apprenticeships were less or a lot less attractive than apprenticeships in other industries. Sixty per cent of New Zealand and 57% of Australian Members told us they had lost an apprentice before the qualification had been completed.

Mark’s best advice to workshop owners wanting to attract and retain apprentices was to make the job as diverse as possible—and to show confidence in your apprentice’s abilities.

“We’re all going to have bad days and good days, but just break the day up,” he said. “Make it interesting, rather than the same thing over and over again, because that’s obviously not what we’re all there to do."

“What I found was helpful for me was doing the different jobs. Dad used to just say, ‘Go and do it and figure it out.’ When you’ve got an apprentice, obviously you’re teaching them, so you’ve got to allow them to do the harder jobs. You can’t just let them do easy jobs and then give them a hard job once they’re qualified, because if they haven’t had that practice, then they’re not going to be ready to do it.”

Mark urged apprentices to “stick it out— especially if you love cars”.

“If it’s tough, just find something that makes your day better,” he said. “I could have 10 customers that I serve and if nine of them are awful, but I have one good one, then I go home happy. If you’ve had three bad jobs and then you get a simple service—a quick alternator or something—just find enjoyment in that. If you can’t do that then maybe it’s not for you, but for me it just makes it easier because it feels less like a job and more like a hobby."

“That’s what I always say. This feels like a hobby rather than a job and I’m just blessed that I get paid for it.”

Mark was nominated for the Capricorn Rising Stars by his parents, Capricorn Members Steve and Julie Smith, of The Battery Terminal. If you’d like to nominate your apprentice and give them the kind of confidence boost Mark talks about, visit cap.coop/stars.

Nominate your apprentice at cap.coop/stars.

2024 Capricorn Rising Stars Terms and Conditions apply, visit cap.coop/tc