IN THE WORKSHOP
REACHING OUT TO THE NEXT GENERATION
As we continue to deal with our industry’s ongoing skills shortage, attracting the next generation to automotive is a hot topic The way to solve a skills shortage might seem easy on the face of it – simply get more people into the industry! The actual matter of growing industry participation is a complex one however, in what is an increasingly cluttered and competitive careers market. While attracting mature-aged workers to the industry is an integral part of this puzzle, in this article I want to focus on ‘the next generation’ – that is, school leavers. While less young people may be growing up helping their parents fix the family car in the driveway and fewer secondary schools have a dedicated ‘trade’ component within their facilities compared to decades past, it is heartening to see many secondary schools encouraging students to consider the trades, including automotive, as a viable career option. “There are a number of our public schools that have specialist automotive trade training centres. Students attending these schools have access to current industry trainers, industry standard facilities and nationally recognised automotive training at school. Some schools also offer automotive vocational preparation training on school site by qualified trainers,” Executive Director Statewide Services for the WA Department of Education, Martin Clery, said. “Automotive industry-based training is also delivered by TAFE Colleges and private providers. Students typically attend these training facilities or engage in employment-based training with an employer one to two days per week during Years 11 and 12. Some students are successful in securing an apprenticeship and leave education to access these opportunities full time.” “Schools value automotive training as a strong and viable pathway for students that can lead straight into meaningful work,” said Jodie Fitzsimmons, VET Coordinator for the North Metropolitan Education Regional Office of the WA Department of Education. “The number of schools that support students to complete automotive training – both in school through registered training organisations, and by facilitating access to external training – clearly indicates that schools value highly the pathways provided by this industry.” TAFEs are working diligently with schools to provide students a range of training options, supporting school-based apprentices and offering various training pathways. “Bendigo TAFE and Kangan Institute’s Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) are both well 82
Australian Automotive Aftermarket Magazine November 2020
connected with the automotive industry. We are currently providing training to apprentices from well-known auto companies, including Renault Australia, CMV Truck and Bus, Sheen Group, Mercury Marine and Toyota Australia. At Bendigo TAFE and Kangan Institute we offer a range of courses, including pathways for Certificate II VETiS and pre-apprenticeships to the Certificate III (apprenticeship) program,” Bendigo TAFE and Kangan Institute Education Manager Commercial Vehicle and Engine Technology, Gavin Cribb, said. “We are proud to assist students in various ways when it comes to pursuing a career in the automotive industry, including developing work ready programs and Certificate II courses that lead to apprenticeships and employment opportunities; working directly with a large number of secondary schools, as well as Group Training Organisations and apprentice network centres; and working directly with employers and supporting recruitment campaigns using SEEK and stakeholder engagement strategies. “We also have an increasing number of Australian School Based Apprenticeship (ASBA) students, which shows that many students start their traineeship through schools. VETiS students are also well supported by schools and at Bendigo TAFE and Kangan Institute we would love to encourage and support more secondary schools with offering automotive studies as part of their curriculum.” In addition to providing training services for secondary schools, many TAFEs are also working with schools to open the eyes of their students to the possibilities. Just one of these is Box Hill Institute of TAFE. “We offer high school students a taste of what it would be like to work in a workshop and learn all about the automotive industry and how to repair cars by offering vocational education training in schools where they can end up with a Certificate II in Automotive Service Technology. Similar exposure is also offered through our preapprenticeship programs,” Box Hill institute of TAFE Manager Automotive, Engineering, Welding, Transport and Logistics for the Faculty of Trades, Technology and Transport, Michael Cope, said. “We also offer ‘taster days’ where schools in our area will bring bus loads of students to us and they can try three trades in a day, including automotive. On these days, they learn about what is involved, we answer any questions they have, and they can do something practical such as a wiring project or repairing a component before enjoying a tour of our workshops and technology.”
These activities have an integral role to play in combating one key challenge for our industry: the perception of automotive as a career. But there is still more that must be done. “We are finding that a lot of students, and in particular their parents and sometimes also career advisors, are not thinking of automotive as a viable career – they are seeing manufacturers and more shutting down and they have the stereotype of working in grease and dirt in their heads,” Michael said. “We work hard to combat these false beliefs by explaining there are 68 brands selling here in Australia and nearly a million cars being sold locally, all of which will need servicing and repairs. This shows them there is still a big market out there. At the same time, we are careful to educate about what the reality of automotive is in today’s day and age.” “With the very high levels of technology currently in vehicles and the emerging technologies such
