New Zealand Certificate in Light Automotive Engineering

LEVEL 4 NEW ZEALAND CERTIFICATE IN LIGHT AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING

Total credits 200 (1.67 EFTS) Campus Mt Albert Start dates Applications accepted and programme starts throughout the year Duration Part-time for three to five years Annual tuition fees Please see programme page on our website. Approximately $11 per credit plus Student Services Fee (Approximate domestic fee only)

Career opportunities • Light automotive engineer

Highlights • Learn and work in Mataaho, our purpose-built trades facility. This includes multiple workshop spaces, as well as the Giltrap Volkswagen sponsored lab with top of the line emulation and simulation technologies. • Improved job prospects: this programme is nationally developed and recognised. • We assist you with employment relationships: we work with your employer to recognise the work you do on-site that contributes to your qualification. • Support and mentoring for students and employers throughout your study

This programme is your launchpad into a career as a light automotive engineer. You'll become skilled and knowledgeable in the fast developing and growing automotive industry where there is high demand for skilled automotive engineers.

Programme overview If you're working in the industry or you're ready to enter a work arrangement with an employer, this programme will further your understanding of light automotive engineering. You'll learn how to safely and effectively diagnose and repair mechanical and electronic faults in a range of vehicles.

You'll learn to:

• Monitor the workplace and respond to issues as required to maintain a safe and effective workplace • Apply the appropriate precautionary measures when servicing and repairing high risk light automotive systems • Diagnose and repair common faults in light vehicle engines and driveline systems, electrical and electronic systems and steering, suspension, and braking systems. As a qualified Light Automotive Engineer, you can apply to be assessed for a Warrant of Fitness License via the Vehicle Inspectors Preparatory Course – you can find out more about this short course on our website.

Admission requirements For this programme, you’ll need:

Academic

1. Completed the New Zealand Certificate in Automotive Engineering (Level 3) or demonstrate equivalent skills and experience.

English

If English is not your first language, you’ll need one of the following:

• Achieved NCEA Level 3 and New Zealand

University Entrance • Provide evidence you satisfy our criteria for existing English proficiency such as

IELTS • Achieved at least one English proficiency outcome in the last two years If you don’t meet the English criteria above, we have a range of English Language programmes available (see unitec.ac.nz/english). There are additional English requirements for international students – you can find more information on our website.

Other options

If you don’t meet these requirements, you could apply for special or discretionary admission.

For more information download the programme regulations: unitec.ac.nz/automotive

International Students, please visit unitec.ac.nz/international

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FOR THE LOVE OF CARS

Combining work with study is “killing two birds with one stone”, says Danielle Anderson who is studying part-time for her Certificate in Automotive Engineering, while doing an apprenticeship with John Andrew Ford.

Thanks to a childhood surrounded by cars, Danielle knows her way around a motor like the back of her hand. From helping her father work on his cars to an apprenticeship at John Andrew Ford, she’s now turning her fascination with cars into a career she loves.

While working full-time at John Andrew Ford, Danielle is a part-time student at Unitec, studying a Certificate in Automotive Engineering (Level 3). Combining work with study not only “kills two birds with one stone”, it keeps her motivated and means she can earn a living while studying.

“I didn’t like school at all – it was too much of stuff I didn’t want to learn. But doing the two classes a week has been great, and by the time I finish my programme, and get qualified, I’ll be out of my apprenticeship.”

“I can ask a question in person and get to the root of the problem. If I was doing this at home or online, I’d open my book and think ‘I don’t know what I’m supposed to be taking in!’. I’m not a strong reader so being able to talk through something, and be shown how it works, I get the gist of it pretty well,” she says.

While aspiring mechanics could learn on the job, Danielle believes employers are increasingly looking for qualifications to back-up experience. “Some of my classmates are in their 30s and have been working as mechanics for a few years, but now want to get the paperwork to move forward in their careers and get that pay rise.”

Danielle says having a programme and apprenticeship that complement each other allows her to apply her learnings both inside and outside the classroom. Much of the practical side of her coursework can be done while she’s at work and signed off by her supervisors. “And the theory I learn at Unitec I can put into practice. It’s nice when you learn something, and then get asked about it at work, to know the answer. And vice versa!"