College puts wheels on automotive skills

By Bridget Brady
THE wheels are turning at Lyndhurst Secondary College, after the school and local community helped train a Cranbourne mechanic to be a VET teacher.
The school, which used to be a tech college, had technical equipment to cater for an automotive VET class lying around that had not been used for a few years.
Gary Saunders, an industry liaison project manager and volunteer at the school and Casey’s non-citizen of the year, suggested the school find a teacher to begin the VET class.
Cranbourne mechanic David Aberle heard about the call for a teacher, and hit the books in order to complete the required certificate IV in training and assessment to allow him to teach the class.
The Cranbourne Chamber of Commerce donated $1400 for Mr Aberle to complete the course.
“They (chamber) were happy to provide the funding, and it’s a good investment in the future of the kids on the chamber’s behalf,” Mr Saunders said.
“There is a fully equipped garage and auto workshop at the school, so there was so much equipment sitting there idle.”
Mr Aberle, who was a mechanic in the army for 15 years, said he was very excited about the year ahead.
“Last week was our first class and we really had a lot of fun. Mechanics are very hard to find in Cranbourne at the moment, so this will provide local kids with the skills to use in the area.”
The students, from a range of schools in the area, will complete an automotive pre- apprenticeship after two years.
“We were trying to look at different ways of reactivating that equipment we had to give the kids the skills for the industry,” Mr Saunders said.
“We didn’t have the funding for a teacher, so this is a real credit to the chamber for investing in the future.”
There is a waiting list for those interested in the VET automotive class. To register interest contact Simone Ciccia at Lyndhurst Secondary College on 5996 0144.