BHP Heavy Diesel Mechanic Joann Knight will find out if she’s WA Apprentice of the Year this Friday night (17/9/2021).

One of four finalist nominees, Jo now works out of BHP's Perth Repair Centre, but was a standout performer during her Mobile Plant Mechanic apprenticeship.

Driven by her love for wanting to know how things worked, Jo said it would be insane to win the award and be recognised as the best apprentice in the state.

“I’m not good at talking myself up,” Jo joked.

“I’ve just loved the opportunity to learn from the crew that have been doing this work for 25 odd years.

“I really enjoy knowing how the tiniest part of an engine, differentiator or transmission impacts the rest of a machine.

“Everyone was so welcoming and open to sharing their knowledge, it’s been awesome picking up little tricks people have developed during their careers.”

Jo entered her apprenticeship with no mining experience and said she’d encourage anyone, especially other women to consider an apprenticeship or a job in mining.

“When I started in 2017, I was the only girl, but no one treated me any different. I felt like one of the boys.

“Anyone can do this job – as long as you work hard. The way things are now too, it’s so much easier. We have tools that enable anyone, no matter their physical size to do things.”

Having had a stint on site working on graders, dozers, dump trucks and diggers, Jo is now a full time BHP employee and spends her days at our Welshpool workshop tinkering and repairing parts for our heavy vehicles, a skill she says has come in very handy outside of work.

“I do a lot of 4WDing and my knowledge of vehicle parts helps me out when we go off-roading,” Jo said.

“From working at my family’s motorbike garage when I was little to now working on these massive machines, it is a bit of a childhood dream come to fruition.”

The WA Apprentice of the Year will be announced on Friday 17 September and we wish Jo all the very best.

Well done Jo!