Tasman Auto Electrics Director Mike Carmody explains that Mali’s scholarship award was amazing, but not surprising.
“It was awesome to see the happiness in his eyes and how grateful he was,” says Mike. “He’s done it himself. This is recognition of how hard he works and how good he is at his job. We were simply there to support his application.”
Mali’s passion for the trade started in his home country, Sri Lanka, growing up around his dad’s transport company.
“My dad used to bring the trucks and other vehicles he was repairing to our house, so I would watch what he was doing and help. That’s where my interest in being a mechanic started.”
After starting his apprenticeship, Mali discovered automotive electrical engineering was where his interests truly lay.
After qualifying, his career soon expanded internationally. After gaining experience with various companies in Sri Lanka during and after his training, Mali accepted a role in the Maldives, where he spent nearly six years working on heavy and earth‑moving machinery.
“I worked on mobile cranes, motor graders, wheel loaders, excavators, all heavy and earth moving vehicles. The company went under after COVID, so I got another job with a hotel, maintaining the generators of their EVs and other electrical machines like golf carts.”
Throughout this time, Mali was working toward another goal—moving to New Zealand.
“My main dream was to live in New Zealand, and after my visa was accepted, I moved here.”
Mali joined Tasman Auto Electrics soon after his arrival and says he feels supported both professionally and personally.
“I'm very happy with my job at Tasman Auto Electrics. It’s a good team—they treat me like their brother and have my back. Really, really good people.”
Mike couldn’t be happier with Mali and his work.
“Mali’s a fantastic tradesperson. He learns, listens, and is great at diagnosing. He’s also just a very likable guy and a good human being. When he's in the workshop and on the jobs with the team here, he's very much a team player. And when he's out on site, he is always welcomed by our customers. We often get amazing customer feedback from Mali being on site.”
When Mali approached Mike about wanting to apply for the scholarship, it was simply a no-brainer.
“Mali’s future within the company is as far as Mali wants to take it. We will fully back him—he's an integral part of the team and it's an absolute no brainer for the business. It's positive for Mali, positive for us, and positive for our customer base as well.”
