This Truganina tradie knows the ins and outs of heavy machinery.
Campbell Grant, who is in the third year of his four-year road transport apprenticeship, will put his skills to the test this week when he competes in the heavy vehicle mechanic category at the 2016 WorldSkills Australia national competition.
The WorldSkills competition – the Olympics of the trades industry – gives Australians aged 23 or younger the opportunity to pit their skills against peers in their chosen trade, and fast-track their skills and career development.
Mr Grant, 21, works as a Caterpillar engine specialist for William Adams and was selected to compete in the competition by one of his teachers at Kangan Institute.
Mr Grant said he would be required to perform basic diagnostics on engines, and be tested on how well he can diagnose a problem and repair it.
He said he was feeling “fairly confident” in the lead-up to the event.
“I’ve got some very good teachers walking me through it,” he said.
“It’s something that I do every day at work, things I’m used to. It’s going to be a matter of technique, rather than knowledge.”
Mr Grant said he originally wanted to be a mechanic, but got into trucks following a recommendation.
“The fact that you can have an eight-tonne vehicle pulling 120 tonnes, and the sheer size of them, is every little boy’s dream.
“Sometimes we’ll get in different American engines, which is a bit more difficult for us.
“When you get to learn something new, which you haven’t got to touch before, and take it apart and slowly learn how it works, that’s one of the more rewarding things.”
