Everyone wins at Wheelnutz

The team at Wheelnutz Garage has won many prizes – the most recent being the Brisbane Disability Leadership Sector Innovation Award just a few weeks ago – but for the team that runs the amazing auto workshop, every day is a winner. 

Wheelnutz, which has a workshop in Meadowbrook, trains people with a disability to learn all aspects of auto repair and restoration with the goal of assisting them into paid work.  

From humble beginnings in a home garage, to 2 workshops catering for around 60 people, Wheelnutz has come a long way – and co-owner Jade Burgmann says it is affirming to receive recognition. 

‘We have won an award pretty much every year since we started, which is nice, but it’s especially great for our staff,’ she says. 

‘The people who work with us and  the people with a disability who learn here have such a wide range of qualities. They are skilled in the automotive area, but they also have that passion to share their knowledge and work with people who have additional needs, as well as some of the other challenges of youth. 

‘The people we work with sometimes struggle with mental health issues and substance abuse – but it doesn’t take long to see their confidence starting to build when they come here.’ 

Jade’s 25 years as a social worker – 13 of those in the disability space – as well as a lifelong love of cars and a dad who was a motor racing driver, have made Wheelnutz the perfect fit for her and her partner, who started Wheelnutz in 2020 from their home garage. 

While the students at Wheelnutz are mostly young men, there is no age limit, and they range from early teens to late 60s. 

In addition to working with students to find their particular passion – whether it be mechanics, interiors or something else in the automotive realm – Jade works with the broader industry to encourage them to employ people with additional needs.  

‘We realised it wasn’t enough for us to skill up these young people – we wanted to also think about barriers for them to step into mainstream employment and work to give the industry the capacity and the will to take on these people as employees,’ Jade says. 

‘We have this great group of young people, and we need the industry to recognise they are potentially great employees – and the industry loves what we do, they see the need for it and have been very receptive.’ 

She says while many Wheelnutz’ students have issues ‘on paper’, these are not barriers to being a fantastic prospective employee as they excel in practical skills, hard work, loyalty and other areas. 

‘We need to think about what the barriers are – and are they really barriers, or just perceived that way? There has been plenty of research to show that people with disabilities and additional needs are excellent employees with a high level of skill, loyalty and fewer sick days than those without additional needs,’  Jade says. 

‘For almost all of the issues that may arise, there are strategies that can be put into place.’ 

Those interested in enrolling as a student, or those in the automotive industry interested in finding out more, can contact the team directly by emailing admin@wheelnutzgarage.com or heading to their website or Facebook page.