Poyser Trucks Bendigo Isuzu technician Louis Holt (24) surprised a few people, including himself, when he placed second in the Isuzu National Skills Competition in July out of a field of more than 60 qualified mechanics.
Holt’s placing sparked more than three months of training as he prepared to represent Australia at the international competition, the Isuzu World Service Technical Competition (I-1GP), where he faced off against teams of Isuzu technicians from 60 different countries.
Holt and his team-mate Brad Hickey, from Double R Trucks in Tamworth, travelled to Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) office in Melbourne for the November 4 competition, which was held virtually once again this year.
According to Holt, he projected a confidence he didn’t feel during the national competition, which consisted of a one-hour written exam and a one-hour on-vehicle exercise.
“There’s about 20 people watching you,” Holt says. “They’re in your face, so it’s pretty scary, it’s nerve-racking.”
He says meeting up with so many “like-minded” automotive technicians at the competition was a blast.
A keen footballer and tennis-player, Holt says he knew he wanted to be an automotive technician from an early age.
“I grew up on a farm with my old man and he’s always been mechanical, because you need to be able to fix things yourself,” he says. “So, that’s where I got my interest on fixing trucks from, it’s just a satisfying job.”
Holt says his favourite task as an auto technician was solving wiring issues.
“I like diagnosing jobs that involve pulling up a wiring diagram and you’ve got a circuit that can fit on an A3 page and then you have to narrow it down to the single relay that’s the problem,” he says.
In preparation for the I-1GP, Holt and his teammate Hicky, also known as Hicksta, studied previous competition challenges and really got to know an Isuzu N-series truck and its 4JJ engine.
“We’ve been mucking around with that truck and putting faults into it to figure out what the truck does when it loses a certain circuit, just really trying to know it inside out,” he says.
IAL National Training Manager David Smith says the Australian team of Holt and Hickey had excelled at their I-1GP preparation, impressing their coaches at IAL.
Smith says this year’s Australian team had the rare combination of talent, experience, technical expertise — and cheekiness — that could see them take a podium finish in the international competition.
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