Pahīatua trainee wins top prize in rural contracting

Jessica Bills receiving her award from John Tulloch.

When Jessica Bills heard she was named Rural Contractors’ NZ Trainee of the Year for 2023, she admits she was shocked.

“I had no idea I was going to come first.”

The 25-year-old had initially hesitated about going down for the award presentation, held at the Rural Contractors conference in Invercargill last month.

She was accompanied by her parents, Gary and Amanda Bills, her partner and her employers Catherine and Andrew Mabey of Mabey Contracting.

Jessica, from Pahīatua, joined the company in October last year after working at MCI and Associates.

It was an injury through playing sport that prompted the change, but having grown up on a farm, she says it was something she always wanted to do.

“When I was little I decided I wanted to drive tractors - that would be the best job.”

Jessica with Catherine and Andrew Mabey.

So she contacted Andrew and went in for a job interview.

“It went from there.

“Since I did it, I’ve never looked back.”

Jessica also plays for Bush women’s rugby and has just been named in the development team, the Manawatū Wāhine Development XV, which she was “pretty chuffed” about.

She says that happened just before she went down to Invercargill.

“It’s kind of like everything happening at once.”

Playing rugby has helped her in her work as well.

“I think rugby probably helped me a lot with all the challenges with contracting. The whole mindset - anything we did in rugby, I can kind of put that in place at work as well.

Jessica says it’s all about working as a team.

“We work so much better together.”

For the awards, Jessica had to log all her jobs on an app, including the terrain and weather she was working in, and report on her top three jobs, which would then be looked at by the judges.

The judges then chose their top 10, with the trainees participating in interviews.

Jessica with her parents Gary and Amanda.

Gary says it wasn’t a big surprise that Jessica turned to contracting.

“Whenever she got home from school and I was in the tractor, she’d kick me out.”

Catherine says the competition, in its second year, originally started as there was a skill shortage of machinery operators and there wasn’t much of a training pathway.

She says it’s nice to have the industry recognised.

Jessica won a travel prize of $1000 sponsored by Tulloch Farm Machinery, Nufarm and RCNZ.

Jessica with runner-up Caleb Turner.

Jessica says she’s learning everything she can in the job, including raking, baling, mowing, and wrapping and stacking hay and sileage, as well as servicing machines in the workshop.

“I love every minute of it.” She hopes to stay in the rural contracting industry and eventually manage an operation.