Peterborough’s Callum Bryne has emerged from a tough 12-hour contest to claim the crown of the UK’s best young mechanic.
The World Skills UK contest took place in the NEC in Birmingham and it saw the 20-year-old defeat a large pool of competitors across a day of challenges to win the coveted title. The mechanic, who has worked for Chapel Motor Repairs for four years, declared himself “delighted” to have won the event.
His car garage will be thankful that they took on the talented mechanic when he was aged just 16, with the story illustrating the benefits and value of investing in youth. However, motor trade businesses hiring young staff must remain conscious of the fact that it can be difficult to add them as named driver on a road risk insurance policy, so it might not be until their mid-20s that the employees are able to drive customers’ vehicles as part of repair jobs and servicing.
According to Peterborough Today, there were in excess of 74,000 people in attendance to watch the mechanics complete a range of tasks. The challenges included replacing the suspension arm on a Jaguar and stripping down the rebuilding an entire engine.
Brian Pitts, owner of Chapel Motor Repairs, said: “It was an outstanding performance – exceptional.
“Callum has always done exceptionally well and he’s a nice lad, good natured and has the right attitude to his work. He is head and shoulders above the norm.”
Mr Bryne now hopes to represent the UK at the World Skills finals in Abu Dhabi in two years.
