The 2007 National Apprentice Challenge will once again be held in Building 10 and should attract great interest as this will be the first year that the competition has been opened up for all states to compete. With nominations to participate in the event closing on the 31st January 2007, CVIAQ received over 90 nominations nationally with Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria responding strongly.

The first stage of the Challenge is a theory test that nominees will sit for. The theory test will be held on Thursday 8th March 2007 at 4.00pm Queensland time. The test will be co-ordinated nationally through the TAFE colleges with all nominees and their employers receiving a letter in the next couple of weeks advising them of the test time and location.

The top two scoring apprentices from each state or territory will be brought together as a team and will be flown to Brisbane courtesy of CVIAQ and Kenworth to represent their state or territory for the diagnostic test section of the Challenge to be performed at the 2007 Queensland Truck and Machinery Show.

Two sixty minute heats will be on display on Friday 18th May 2007 with the ninety minute long final to be performed on the Saturday 19th May 2007. Prizes valued at over $50,000 are on offer with the winning team to accompany the Managing Editor of Truckin’ Life magazine to the US in August 2007, courtesy of the Australian Kenworth Truck Dealer Group, visiting truck and ancillary equipment plants in North America.