As the government attempts to kickstart a COVID-battered economy by supporting skills-based jobs and apprenticeships for young people, it could do well to heed the advice of someone who has seen hundreds of potentials starters come through his workshop doors.
And just as many starters failing to return.
Jon Waterhouse has been in the automotive industry for 42 years - most of that time operating out of the same Fyshwick premises - and has learned some valuable lessons in selecting mechanical apprentices.
"Aptitude and attitude is everything," he said.
"We've had young people, schools-based potential apprentices, come in here who are referred to us through a system which doesn't properly identify the type of basic skills and attitude you need to be a mechanic these days.
"For the system to work well, there has to be more to it than just someone ticking a box; that person really has to want to work in that industry and learn all the elements that go with being a part of that industry.
"So all the bits have to fit together right from the start, with matching the young person to the trade through to the quality of the technical training, and ensuring the employer does their part with advice and support."
Getting young people into training and apprenticeships was part of a pre-budget $1.2 billion training announcement this week, with employers getting a 50 per cent wage subsidy - up to a maximum of $7000 per quarter - for taking on new trainees and apprentices to build a "skills pipeline" to meet the future needs of employers.
But while Mr Waterhouse is hugely supportive of the fiscal support, he says that all the components have to work together to make the system run efficiently.
"There's a diverse skillset that a modern mechanic needs, from electrical knowledge to computer literacy to diagnose and fix problems," he said.
"But equally you have to be curious about why things work they way they do, because one part of the day you could be fixing a door lock, and the next you're trying to figure why an engine fails under load."
His most recent apprentice mechanic is a shining example of that curious mind, as well as a fierce desire to be involved in the industry.
At 20 years old, Maisie Place is a fourth-year apprentice who considers herself fortunate to have landed what she considers to be her ideal job and to be learning her trade "from someone who has a huge amount of knowledge and is really happy to share it".
But it was tough going early for the former Moruya student, who during her schools-based apprenticeship would attend her local high school for two days, then work the counter at the Batemans Bay McDonalds at night to pay for the fuel to drive up to Canberra.
She would go to technical training on Thursdays and then spend Fridays "hands on" at the Reliance Rotary workshop before returning home on weekends.
"It was a slog early on; I didn't get much sleep," she said.
"But it was totally worth it, I love this job. I check out the job book each night and see what's coming up because I like that we're always working on different things."
And as an independent business which specialises in Mazda's eclectic rotary-type engines, there aren't only conventional vehicles with conventional problems driving into the workshop.
"I talk to apprentices working in big car dealerships and all they do is service cars all day," Miss Place said.
"That's not for me; I think I'd go mad [doing that]. I like that we're doing different things almost every day."
