The 21-year-old is a second-year apprentice from Badgingarra Motors in Western Australia’s Wheatbelt region, about 200 kilometres north of Perth. Megan said she was surprised and thrilled to win the industry’s top honour for outstanding apprentices in the automotive aftermarket.

“I’m trying not to let it go to my head,” Megan said. “It’s really blown my mind.”

Megan is passionate about automotive. “I’ve always loved cars,” she said. “I’ve always loved how they sound, and have been interested in how they worked. I’m the middle child of five girls; I’ve always been a bit of a black sheep. I was always the more boyish of them all. I liked getting my hands dirty.”

Megan was nominated by her boss, Capricorn Member Harry Burgess, who said his apprentice is a hard worker who is an asset to his business and is set to become an asset to the entire industry. “She puts pressure on herself to complete tasks to a high standard and is very thorough,” he said in his nomination. “She carries out services and repairs independently and is learning very fast; she follows instructions and takes constructive criticism well.” 

Megan’s passion for the industry, her love of learning and the way she continually strives for excellence impressed the panel of judges. More than 300 apprentices were nominated for this year’s award, with Megan coming out on top after three tough rounds of judging by industry experts.

Megan grew up in the wheat and sheep farming community of Moora (population: 1755), where she still lives. Every morning, she drives 60 kilometres to Badgingarra (population: 173) to get to work.

“Growing up in a small country town, there weren’t many opportunities for apprenticeships— especially for women,” Megan said. “No one was hiring.”

There are three workshops in Moora and about three more in surrounding towns—some more than an hour’s drive away. Megan had been working for two years at a recycling centre, in a job that she enjoyed but that offered no career, when she saw the advertisement for an apprentice at Badgingarra Motors.

“My mate was like, ‘Megan you would be all over this stuff—you love cars already; you love learning about stuff; this is your calling’,” she said. “So, I applied and it felt like a miracle when Harry called me up and asked me to come in for an interview.”

“He had me on the tools the first day; I got to help him take the transmission out of a big truck. That was fun. I quickly got to learn every part of a car, what the different tools are called. He was very patient with me when I made a mistake, walked me through what I did wrong. It was very refreshing. He had a lot of patience, which I’m grateful for."

“I’m so glad that ‘past Megan’ applied for this job. I love every second of it. I would not be in any other profession. I wouldn’t do anything else.”

“I love the problem-solving. You get a car in and you have one piece of information and get to go through and figure it out and solve the problem. I love the puzzles.”

So, what does the future hold for this year’s Rising Stars Overall Winner? She also has a particular interest in electric and hybrid vehicles but, like many young West Australians, Megan is also attracted by the opportunities offered by the mining industry.

“After I’m qualified, I might stay here for a year or two and then move on to the mines and do a trade upgrade to heavy diesel,” she said. “Then I’ll be dual qualified. Then, once I’ve earned the money I need for it, I’d like to open my own shop one day, so I can employ people that typically aren’t well represented in the industry—people of colour, people of different sexual orientations, women—and just create a safe space for them. I’d really like to take the approach Harry has taken with his business where you take care of your customers because they’ll turn around and look after you.”

Megan said more should be done to support apprentices from regional communities.

“A big part of why I was hesitant to start an apprenticeship at first was because there isn’t a lot of support for regional and rural apprentices, especially when it comes to TAFE,” she said.

“The only TAFE that does block release, which means you go every couple of months for a week, is in South Perth. I’m quite lucky that I have my own vehicle and I’ve got places to stay in Perth where it won’t cost me money, but a lot of people don’t have that support, so the cost has to come out of their pocket. As every mechanic knows, you don’t get paid a lot in an apprenticeship, so that is definitely a struggle that thankfully I avoided.”

Megan said it’s more than a two-hour drive from Moora to South Perth, making attending TAFE twice a week (rather than block release) impossible.

“I believe if there was more support for regional apprentices, it would not only benefit existing apprentices it would entice more to go into trades,” she said.

Capricorn thanks all Members who nominated their outstanding apprentices and supported them during the application process. Also, we take this moment to thank the 2024 Capricorn Rising Stars sponsors - Castrol, Repco, and The Workshop Whisperer - for their generous support and contributions. Thanks to them, Megan, the Top 5 Finalists, and their nominating workshops received recognition and fantastic prizes. We look forward to meeting next year's talented apprentices!