Bright spark

By Marc McGowan
PAKENHAM teenager Michael Grant is celebrating three years of hard work after being selected as the apprentice of the year this month.
Mr Grant, 18, is undertaking an engineering apprenticeship at Littlejohn Embrey while learning the trade at the Chisholm Institute of TAFE’s Noble Park campus.
“I didn’t even know it was coming; I just got a letter in the mail. It was a bit of a surprise,” the former Pakenham Secondary College student said.
His TAFE teachers nominated him for the award, which he will receive on 29 March at the Drum Theatre in Dandenong.
“I asked the teacher what he judged it on, and he said, ‘Attitude, the work you do and wanting to learn’,” Mr Grant said.
Despite having some success at school, he always knew he was destined to work with his hands.
“I did enhanced maths in year 9 and got an A plus, but at English, I was hopeless,” Mr Grant said.
“I did Indonesian as well, but I just thought, ‘I’m no good at English, so what’s the point of learning another language’,”
Ever since he was a child, Mr Grant spent the majority of his time at his neighbour’s place fixing various nooks and crannies.
“My neighbour, Rob Mellor, taught me a lot of stuff. I wouldn’t be where I am now without help from him,” he said.
“Also, my uncle, Peter Reid, saw I was interested in building stuff and he bought me a welder when I was 13 or 14.”
Even before winning the award, Mr Grant’s future was always looking bright.
“My boss reckons I’ll be running the show in 10 years when he retires,” he said with a laugh.
“But I want to own my own joint and start it off from scratch. Maybe once I’m 25 or 26, I’ll start my own thing.”