Above and Beyond

**This story originally appeared in the February 2026 edition of AMT Magazine**

Amiga Engineering RFP program manager Dee Bourchier jokes that she decided to hire Jourdan Webb once he brought his own engine components to his interview.

“I always tell people, if you’ve made something you’re really proud of, you’re welcome to bring it in… so when he’d brought in miniature engine components that he’d machined up outside of school… we were just like – ‘these are really good… when do you want to start?’” she says.

Webb is one of two apprentices named as Manufacturing Apprentice of the Year at the 2025 Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Awards, having recently entered the fourth year of his apprenticeship as a fitter and turner.

But it was a career that almost came to a premature end when his first employer, which he describes as “an old-school valve shop,” closed shortly after he’d completed his first year as an apprentice.

“I decided straight away I’d have to look for jobs, and I thought, ‘there’s no point downgrading. The only thing I should be doing is upgrading – finding something better, where I can really push myself as much as possible to learn more and get as much out of my apprenticeship as possible.”

That led to the meeting with Bourchier and the Amiga team – and exactly the challenges that Webb first wanted.

“I hadn’t really touched a CNC machine before, so we started up just learning programming and running CNC machines – and that took a couple of months to get going on my own,” he says.

After that, he moved on to the CNC Zayer horizontal milling machine, then training in fabrication, including Amiga’s Mazak Integrex 5-axis machining centre.

“It’s enjoyment. When something’s enjoyable, it’s a lot easier to take in because your mind’s in a good place – your brain takes in the information better,” he says.

Bourchier says she and the wider Amiga team were impressed by Webb’s willingness and enthusiasm to learn more.

“When you have someone come in, you want them to grow with the company, and you want them to grow with the new technology… he’s got that mindset, we can help him grow with that machine, and it can be one of his ‘babies’ that he looks after as well.”

For those starting out in manufacturing, Webb encourages perseverance.

“There’s something for everyone, and you’ve got to find what you love – but it’s not a walk in the park… that experience comes after all the hard work, which comes with a lot of plateaus and a lot of stone walls that you’re going to have to get through,” he says.

As a child watching his parents work on cars, to completing Certificate II in Automotive and in Engineering while in high school, to working on his own cars today – Webb believes in the importance of understanding the full picture.

Even today, Webb is working on completing his Certificate IV in Engineering, taking additional welding classes to add another string to his bow.

“They really do go hand in hand – you can’t have one without the other. So being able to be an all-rounder and do everything, that’s really important to me,” he says.

“If you have a good understanding of what is required for every part of the business and every part of how things work and come together, then you better help not only yourself but other people.”

“I’ve just started my fourth year now – and what excites me would have to be some of the more complex parts… just having the knowledge of the leading edge technology, being right at the forefront – that’s probably the coolest part,” he says.