Southland Farm Machinery Group Aftermarket Manager & Gore Branch Manager Stacey Hitchens has made rapid progress in his career since graduating with a Certificate in Automotive Heavy Trades from SIT.
Stacey’s keen interest in heavy machinery resulted in him enrolling at SIT after finishing Year 12 at Gore High School. He thoroughly enjoyed the course, especially the practical aspects.
While studying, he had work experience with an agricultural repair company in Gore, and after graduating he gained a full time apprenticeship with the John Deere franchise in Christchurch.
In 2008 Stacey moved back to Southland to take up the Service Manager role with the Invercargill John Deere dealership, Southland Farm Machinery Ltd, and in 2013 he progressed to his current role of Group Aftermarket Manager & Gore Branch Manager where he is responsible for the day to day running of the Gore branch and overseeing the service and parts departments for all Southland Farm Machinery branches.
Stacey enjoys the agricultural industry because of the variety within the sector and the scope for working outdoors. His advice to anyone considering entering the Automotive Heavy Trades sector would be “definitely complete a pre trade course, it gives you a great start in the industry.”