Mazda Australia has debuted its first high school student-focused training programme to equip high school girls with basic mechanical skills and perhaps an apprenticeship later on.
Shelford Girls’ Grammar School year 10 students numbering 70 visited Mazda’s head office in Mulgrave to undergo introductory training on how to check water, coolant and oil levels, change tyres and differentiate between automatic and manual cars.
The training highlights the many and varied career opportunities in the automotive industry.
Mazda Australia’s senior manager of service training Michael Thompson says there are always opportunities in marketing, sales, information technology and human resources, but that Mazda is focusing on VET courses that lead to apprenticeships or traineeships as it is a registered training organisation that offers a nationally accredited Certificate III in light vehicle mechanical technology.
“The auto industry is going through a few changes thanks to the closure of local manufacturing, however this doesn’t mean there isn’t a future for careers in the auto industry,” he says.
He points out that even though it has been a male dominated industry, Mazda has a number of female apprentices in the programme, with many excelling in the trade.
“There is great emphasis being placed on the need for more women to be involved in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) careers,” says the school’s principal Polly Flanagan. “We prefer to use the term STEAM, adding arts to this list, because the design of a car is an artistic as well as scientific, technological and engineering endeavour.”
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