By JESSE GRAHAM
Parts donated to help automotive training of students…
STUDENTS in the Yarra Valley will be better prepared to enter the automotive industry, after $200,000 in parts and equipment were donated to Healesville High School last week.
On Wednesday 20 May, representatives from the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC), Mitsubishi Motors and the Victorian Government visited the school for the donation.
The donation was the first to come through the VACC’s Automotive Industry Donation Program, where companies donate components and equipment to training providers for students to use.
Mitsubishi Motors donated 14 pallets of car components, including engines, transmissions, driveline assemblies, an interactive diagnostic model and a Lancer, all of which will be used by students at the school’s Trade Training Centre.
Principal George Perini said the donation would benefit students from across the valley, as Upper Yarra Secondary College and Worawa Aboriginal College students, among others, use the centre for Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETiS) programs.
He said the school had become known in the area for its automotive training, and that businesses now approached the school for apprentices.
“Our polytechnic successfully places people into apprenticeships on a yearly basis,” he said.
“People now come to us and say ‘have you got a good, young mechanic?’”
“We’ve worked very hard to establish programs that meet the needs and the interests of our young people and, at the same time, the needs of our employers locally.”
Minister for Training and Skills Steve Herbert said the donation would help students to have up-to-date training with current technology, which, in turn, would help them to find jobs in the industry.
He said the skills the automotive students learned during their time at the high school and in the industry would be useful throughout their lives.
“Even if you don’t go into a career … the skills you learn will go with you all your life,” Mr Herbert said.
“You’ll be fixing your own cars, having more confidence in the things you do around your home.”
VACC executive director Geoff Gwilym said although the Australian automotive manufacturing industry was shutting down in 2017, automotive mechanics and technicians still had a vital role to play.
“By 2017, all the major car manufacturers will have left, which means we will have a bigger mix of vehicles on the roads in Australia,” he said.
“Which means the automotive technician, the automotive repairer needs to know more, and the knowledge needs to be deeper – that’s good.
“If you’re in a trade area where your knowledge is more highly valued, then that can do all sorts of things for you in terms of how you’re renumerated, but also the places you can go with your career as well.”
Following the speeches from dignitaries, the representatives toured the Trade Training Centre and met with students studying automotive classes, before the official unveiling of the Lancer.
Mr Perini said the Lancer would replace the school’s old yellow Holden Gemini, which he said was well-remembered by former students who are now established in their careers.
“That small change all of a sudden reflects a whole change of thinking,” he said.
For more information on the donation program, see www.vacc.com.au/initiatives/donations-program.
Correction: This article previously stated that the donated Lancer would replace the school’s Ford Gemini. However, the model is actually a Holden.
The Mail apologises for any inconvenience this error may have caused.
