Peter Warren Group gives Liverpool students a helping hand

Students at Liverpool Boys High School can now kick start their trade education in the school’s new automotive workshop.

Teacher Ryan Kitto said more schools should “jump on board” and offer automotive as part of their curriculum.

“Not every kid is going to be a carpenter or be doing their own carpentry work when they leave school, but every kid out there will have some sort of question about what to do when they have a flat tyre or battery or a lawn mower that doesn’t start,” Kitto told the Liverpool City Champion.

The school started offering the course to year 9 and 10 students about four years ago. “I am at the school as a PE teacher but I did an automotive apprenticeship with the Peter Warren Group about 15 years ago,” Kitto says.

Peter Warren Automotive has also committed to school based apprenticeships, whereby a successful student will be able to commence his automotive apprenticeship/traineeship while still studying years 11 & 12.

The Peter Warren group donated $15,000 towards the construction of the shed and will help support the students through school-based apprenticeships and work experience.

“Paul Warren also committed to us that whenever the group gets a cheap trade-in, he will give us that car to work on,” Kitto adds.

Peter Warren Automotive group service manager Gary Potts says the group was eager to support a school in the local community and the overall motor industry. He also believed it was important to introduce trade-specific courses into Liverpool schools.

“A wider choice of subjects that can be studied during the HSC creates more interest with the students, keeping them keen and motivated,” Potts says.

“The main benefit [of the workshop] is to provide a more hands-on experience, working in a like style of environment such as the workplace.”

Potts said students would be able to use the skills they had learn for the rest of their lives. “I think skills and experience will always prove valuable. This opportunity may be the start of a career within the motor industry,” he told the Liverpool City Champion.

“This will be an ongoing partnership, offering support for the future and hopefully employing some students from Liverpool Boys High School as apprentices,” Potts concluded.