Waikato apprentice takes out Stuart Tolhurst Cup

Enthusiasm, adaptability, and initiative: these are qualities that have earned Ngāruawāhia apprentice Zander Pringle the prestigious Stuart Tolhurst Memorial Award for 2024 in Hamilton this month.

Announced at the Maintenance Engineering Society New Zealand (MESNZ) Awards dinner, the honour places Zander at the apex of his field, cementing his place as New Zealand’s top mechanical maintenance engineering apprentice. Needless to say, he’s “stoked”.

“When they called out my name out I was buzzing. My first thought was ‘Oh now I have to give a speech!’ but after that I was rapt,” says the talented Fonterra Lichfield apprentice.

“It’s cool to get the recognition and the bragging rights, and it will definitely give me an edge when applying for jobs in the future.”

It’s a remarkable achievement for the 22-year-old, who fell in love with the trade beginning through the Gateway programme when he was at Hamilton Boys’ High School.

“Bookwork never interested me, so I’d pretty much ruled out uni – I always preferred doing more hands-on stuff. One of the Gateway options was to go into Fonterra and follow a fitter or sparkie around for two months, so I thought I’d give it a go. I didn’t have any expectations, but I ended up loving it. I did my first two weeks with a sparkie and the next two weeks with a fitter. That was when I thought, that’s me. I want to become a fitter, and I want to do it at Fonterra.

“I’ve always loved figuring out how things work – pulling things apart to see what’s inside and putting them back together, and that’s essentially what the job is. There’s so much variety! My daily tasks can include anything from replacing mechanical seals and motors, to preventative maintenance checks and rebuilding actuators. I really enjoy the problem-solving aspect of the job – trying to diagnose what’s wrong and then fixing it.  Being able to successfully finish a job is very satisfying.”

Mechanical maintenance engineering is the perfect fit for Zander, and three-and-a half years into his journey, he’s excelling. Alongside thriving in his apprenticeship, he has taken on several additional responsibilities including being the health and safety representative for the maintenance department, and union delegate for Fonterra apprentices. This year he has also assisted in the hiring of new apprentices. His boss Todd McKay is justifiably proud.

“Zander approaches his apprenticeship with remarkable enthusiasm and a positive attitude. He adapts to change with ease, embraces new challenges and remains flexible in dynamic environments,” says Todd. “He has a strong work ethic, has demonstrated a clear desire to advance his career, and exhibits significant leadership potential.”

Balancing the demands of high-level sport with work and study, Zander truly has it all—one of the many reasons Competenz Training Advisor Samuel (Sam) Bay nominated him for the Stuart Tolhurst Memorial Award.

“Zander stood out to me as a responsible young man who was always up to date with his studies,” says Sam. “He’s meticulous with his paperwork, and feedback from his superiors is consistently positive. During my visits with him, I also learned that he plays soccer at a very competitive level. Apprentices involved in extracurricular activities often struggle to balance work and regular training. This year, Zander sustained a major leg injury on the soccer field, but it didn’t prevent him from fulfilling his responsibilities at Fonterra Lichfield. He’s a team player and is going to be a tremendous asset to the maintenance crew at Fonterra Lichfield.”

Although the knee injury has delayed completion of his apprenticeship, Zander says he is on track to gain his qualification late this year or early next. Then, the world will be his oyster.

“This trade provides an opportunity to travel the world. Already I’m going to Australia in January to do a 17-day meat works shut down using my annual leave, and once I’m qualified, I’m keen to do a longer stint overseas, travelling and working.”

That’s just one of the many drawcards of his apprenticeship.

“You earn while you learn, you get paid well, and it sets you up for life! Engineering is such a diverse field, and once you’ve got the base skills and knowledge it’s easy to go from one form of engineering to another. In our workshop we have machinists, fabricators, mechanics, and they are all engineers.”

The cherry on top?

“Once you have a trade you always have it, so even if you want to venture out and try new things, you know you’ve always got something to fall back on.”

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