St. Marys local panel beater Nathan Russell has been awarded the accolade of NRMA Insurance Apprentice of the Year for 2010 (Metropolitan New South Wales) at a local ceremony with Stuart Ayres, Member for Penrith.
The annual award recognises the skills of outstanding individuals starting out in their career in the autobody repair industry in New South Wales.
Twenty-three-year-old Nathan Russell was nominated by his employer, Medicar Smash Repairs because of his ability to work to a consistently high standard, in a timely manner.
Liberal member for Penrith Stuart Ayres congratulated Nathan at the ceremony in Penrith today.
“This is a fantastic investment by NRMA Insurance in the Penrith region and a great opportunity for Nathan to further develop his career in the local smash repair industry,” said Mr Ayres.
NRMA Insurance Claims and Assessing Services Manager Michael Jones said that Nathan had excelled in the categories of technical skills, ongoing personal development, customer service delivery and contribution to the community and environment.
“We’ve been extremely pleased with the calibre of applications and in particular our talented winner Nathan,” Mr Jones said.
“Nathan demonstrated an outstanding commitment to the repair industry, an excellent skill base and an impressive desire for self-development.”
“We’re working with repairers to help make the smash repair industry an appealing career option for school leavers, so that we can attract and retain the highest quality repairers. The Apprentice of the Year program helps us achieve this,” Mr Jones said.
With his award, Nathan plans to travel to the USA to attend either the SEMA or NACE exhibitions, as well as undertake work experience in some of the body shops there, to further his skills and knowledge of the trade.
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