MTAQ’s 2023 Auto Women Scholarship Recipients Announced

Angela Jones, Manager at ASR Collision Specialists, has received a Motor Trades Association of Queensland (MTAQ) 2023 Auto Women Scholarship. The programme, sponsored by MTAQ, Spirit Super, and Women & Leadership Australia, supports the career advancement of women working across the automotive industry through two fully funded “high impact” training programmes.

Jones was awarded the Executive Ready Scholarship valued at $8490. MTAQ said the scholarship is designed to “stretch mid-level leaders and propel them towards executive-level positions, bolstering skills and mindsets”.

After 12 years of owning and managing her own mechanical workshop in Cairns, Jones sold the business in 2008. With a Bachelor of Economics, Graduate Programme, and Cert IV in Accounting, she completed contract bookkeeping for a variety of businesses before becoming the finance officer at a solar company that controlled 24 entities across Australia.

Passionate about the automotive industry, Jones began working in the accounts team at ASR Collision Specialists in 2016. She became Manager in 2021, where she oversees a range of operations in the business and leads a diverse mix of people.

“I am a firm believer in lifelong learning and know that the knowledge I will gain from this scholarship will not only benefit me personally, but my entire team. I stepped into the role during a time of COVID-19 chaos and navigated the company through challenging times to achieve an unprecedented financial milestone for the company last month,” said Jones.

“I understand there is a difference between management and leadership and hope to use the Executive Ready programme to learn the skills and knowledge necessary to create the right environment so that both the company and its people can thrive.”

The other scholarship, Leading Edge, valued at $3490, was awarded to Lily Armstrong, an apprentice mechanic from Albany Creek Auto Centre.