"We had a lot of years with you”

blog Date published 30 10 2024 , Age 2 months ago

Pom Tom Mechanical is owned by Thomas Russell, an automotive engineering apprenticeship graduate from NMIT.

PomTomLarge Full Width 2235x1490px — From left, tutors Barry Paterson, Ray Campbell, and Pete Kristofski with Thomas Russell as they stand in front of Tom's newly built workshop for his business, Pom Tom Mechanical.

Automotive Engineering tutors Barry, Ray and Pete all travelled over to Tom’s Tasman-based workshop recently to present him with his certificate and a rātā tree to acknowledge his perseverance.

“We had a lot of years with you, and a lot of laughs,” said Pete.

Tom came over to New Zealand from England when he was 13, much to his angst. He had just been scouted for the football team, Manchester United, and was gutted to be leaving his world behind.

“Needless to say, I had a rough run in school, but I got through Nayland College before heading into some work experience at Mackle Motors,” Tom says.

With his father buying, selling and scrapping trucks in the UK, Tom has always been around machinery and has a knack for it.

“I really enjoy the precision and perfection of engine rebuilding,” he says.

In 2016, Tom had a crack at gaining his Level 3 New Zealand Certificate in Automotive Engineering(external link), but wasn’t committed and after a couple of years, he dropped out.

“I think I needed a change. I left home and went travelling around New Zealand in a van. I also visited America twice and went to Australia for a bit.”

However, his passion for motors could not be contained. When covid hit and Tom couldn’t travel anymore, he picked up some work rebuilding engines which he absolutely loved.

“But since I didn’t want to get vaccinated, I lost my job. It destroyed me a bit,” Tom says.

“I decided I wasn’t having someone else tell me what to do or how to live my life. From then on, I decided to do my own thing.”

That’s when Tom rejoined NMIT, this time focused and committed. With the help of NMIT tutors and Haven Motors, Tom got through his apprenticeship, including the Level 4 New Zealand Certificate in Light Automotive Engineering(external link) and has since opened his own workshop.

“NMIT is great,” Tom says. “It’s not just about the course work, I really enjoy talking to the tutors about life as well.”

“It’s not just about the apprenticeship, you become friends. I always know I can give these guys a call or drop into NMIT and ask them something.”

Learn more about the automotive trades programmes at NMIT(external link).