Thread: Street Machine Apprentice of the year.

Great to hear - good on her. Bet her parents are stoked.

Awesome ! Well done that girl !

Congrats!

Mechanic Nadja Lenehan had the last laugh yesterday after years of being ridiculed as a woman in the male-dominated car industry when she was named the Australian Apprentice of the Year.

Ms Lenehan, 24, was bestowed with the prestigious award by industry bible Street Machine after rigorous testing across the nation to find the best apprentice in the automotive industry.

Employers initially refused to give the Mandurah woman a chance when she was 17, and she was forced to spend months washing cars as she desperately tried to break into the industry.

"Mechanics would stand there and literally laugh at me when I asked for an apprenticeship," Ms Lenehan said. "I had done a pre-apprenticeship and I was better than most of the boys, but they still wouldn't take me seriously."

The Mandurah Performance workshop eventually took a chance on Ms Lenehan, then 19, after she impressed owner Mark Bones by doing a V8 conversion on her car.

Mr Bones said he had had some reservations about hiring her, but had relaxed after she passed a test on her first day. "I told her to go out the back, in the dirt, and take three motors out," he said. "I thought that if she was a bit of a princess, she wouldn't be able to handle it. But she got straight in and did all of it."

Mr Bones said she had since become the best employee he had had in 16 years because of her skills, dedication and attention to detail.

Mechanic Nadja beats boys at their own game - The West Australian

I find it very dissapointing that she had such a hard time getting an apprenticeship.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

I find it very dissapointing that she had such a hard time getting an apprenticeship.

Well, I do agree with you, but the fact is that most people don't want a chick working on their car. Not everyone, but I'd reckon most guys wouldn't. Hence no one wants a female mechanic in their shop. Sad, but true.

Originally Posted by subasurf

Well, I do agree with you, but the fact is that most people don't want a chick working on their car. Not everyone, but I'd reckon most guys wouldn't. Hence no one wants a female mechanic in their shop. Sad, but true.

Well doesn't she have the last laugh. Congrats to Nadja and good on the workshop owner for giving her a go.