As part of National Skills Week, TAFE Tamworth pulled back the curtain on the Build Your Career program, a seven week course aimed at highschool students who want a taste of the trade life style.
Switching the books for the tools, students from Calrossy, Farrer, Carinya and the region are receiving hands-on experience across a range of trades including auto electrical, metal fabrication, engineering and welding.
Workshop supervisor, Adam Lysaght, a teacher of light automotive at the campus, was visibly pleased to see his young charges learning new skills:
“They’re here to do a couple of days of auto-elec with us. It’s part of a broader program that includes fabrication and engineering. They can even earn their white card, which is essential for working in the construction industry.”
“We’re doing a year of competency, which is test and repair based electrical circuits, which is a core unit across the board for a lot of their automotive trades, which they can then take into their future skills and and that sort of thing down in the future.”
Lysaght emphasised the trade school not only offers something different, but a qualification(s) that is extremely valuable:
“They’re all skill shortage industries, so they’re screaming for young people to enter those fields now. So it’s a good opportunity to get them in, get them while they’re young, get the experience and the hands-on stuff.”
One of the advantages of this program is that it not only equips students with technical skills but also builds their confidence and employability:
“They get to spend a lot of time hands-on, getting to know the tools and equipment. That goes a long way in preparing them for the industry,” says Lysart.
He notes that the automotive industry has faced a long-standing shortage of skilled workers, particularly in auto electrical trades, where demand far outstrips supply. This is something that is only going to provide more opportunities, particularly as the EV automotive market continues to climb:
“We’re getting them into electric vehicle trades, auto electrical trades, even mechanical trades. There’s still a lot of mechanical components in EVs, so having that core knowledge is a foot in the right direction.”
For students like Jackson Gordon from Calrossy, the opportunity to step out of the traditional classroom and engage in practical work is invaluable. He looks up from his soldering iron:
“It’s so much better than being in the classroom with books and pens,” he laughs, “You get to use your hands and really learn the trade.”
Top image: Workshop supervisor and light automotive teacher Adam Lysaght works with Cody Hicks and Oscar Fenby (Carinya).
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