Business feature: Apprentice excels at Komatsu

Date: 11.03.2022

At age 35, Megan Allen is one of the oldest first-year apprentices ever to sign on with heavy machinery specialist Komatsu, and by all accounts, she's become its highest achiever

Megan Allen is one of the oldest first-year apprentices ever to sign on with heavy machinery specialist Komatsu

At age 35, Megan Allen is one of the oldest first-year apprentices ever to sign on with heavy machinery specialist Komatsu, and by all accounts, she’s become its highest achiever.

Megan has been announced as Komatsu’s first-year apprentice of the year—recognition of her practical aptitude as well as her intense study regime. During the recent COVID-19 lockdown, Megan completed her entire four years of online theory for the MITO Plant and Heavy Diesel Certificate.

Now she’s back at work at Komatsu’s Auckland branch and making progress on the 18 practical components of the course. "No one told me it was supposed to be done over four years," Megan jokes.

Megan joined Komatsu in early 2021 after nine years working in the food processing industry

"When I was stuck at home with nothing to do, it just seemed natural to study; it’s not as if I wasn’t enjoying it." Megan joined Komatsu in early 2021 after nine years working in the food processing industry, rising in her final year in the firm, to pioneer a temporary role as a health and safety manager, "to see if I could make a difference to the factory, which I did," she says.

"But the position was not made permanent, and I knew it was time for a change."
Megan’s parents own a truck repair business and her younger brother with whom she is "a wee bit competitive" was studying as a heavy machinery mechanic.

"So, when I went on Seek and found a Komatsu mechanical apprenticeship on offer, it seemed like it had been written for me," she says. "The ad said that Komatsu would not discriminate about age or gender."

Megan admits she took a pay cut to move to an apprenticeship. "It wasn’t about the money. I weighed up the financial risk against the end reward I was seeking, and it was the right decision."

As the first female employed on their workshop floor, Megan has become an integral part of Komatsu’s resolve to expand as an equal opportunity employer. "They even built a bathroom for me," she says.

Megan said her acceptance on the workshop floor had been inclusive and she speaks highly of her colleagues welcoming her into what had been an all-male environment. "Everyone has been very good, very warm, and friendly," she says.

"I’ve never sought to be treated differently, and I see myself as one of the guys." The hands-on role that Megan sought has changed her life in many ways. "The work can be physical, although, they’ll never let you lift or carry any weight that might be dangerous. There are machines to do that," she says.

Nonetheless, perhaps a little obsessively, she’s enrolled in a gym and a boot camp, not only to improve her health and fitness but also to train the exact muscles she needs to do her job efficiently. It’s all part of her previous experience in occupational wellbeing, and Komatsu has already invited her to join their health and safety committee.

Megan has also secured her wheels-tracks-rollers license, which enables her to drive Komatsu’s machinery. "The biggest I’ve driven so far is the HM400 articulated dump truck, and the smallest is the PC18 mini excavator," says Megan who’s clearly delighted with her new life direction.

"There are many opportunities with a global company like Komatsu—relocation to other branches, even overseas is just one of them." Even in her first apprenticeship year, Megan has been introduced to the specialised computer skills at the heart of Komatsu’s GPS-based Komtrax and intelligent machine control tools for their next-generation machines.

"There are training courses for them, and I’d be very interested," she says.

There’s a good chance she’d complete them in record time.

For more information, visit komatsu.co.nz.

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