I recently had the privilege of participating in several MTA Queensland school engagement activities in a couple of regional areas across the state. We all acknowledge school students are a critical part of the pipeline of our future workforce so, as an industry, we must be active to ensure we reach as many students/parents and career advisors as we possibly can as there is fierce competition for these potential workers.

I must say, school engagement done right will reap rewards for our industry. While we had some learnings from these engagements – and my key takeaways are parents must be involved in the discussions as they’re key influencers – we must have the tools in our arsenal to inspire and educate students/parents when we speak with them. Importantly, the credibility of our efforts is amplified when real employers participate in the process. 

We had this formula pretty well in place for our recent engagements and consider the events a success. There were many robust discussions around the varied automotive career options along with questions around what’s the process to secure a job in the auto industry and when a student should leave school, year 10 or 12. These and other queries came thick and fast from both students and parents alike, and we were more than happy to provide answers to them along with connecting students with employers. 

On the topic of pre-employment programs, we have a cohort of pre-vocational students completing their Certificate II in Vocational Preparation at the end of March so, if you’re an employer in the Southeast Queensland region and are after a job-ready

first-year apprentice, please reach out

to us so we can arrange a meet and greet. Also, with school holidays just around

the corner, we’re pleased to have almost filled our two Auto Ready courses (automotive immersion program) in Brisbane for April. 

18 March 2024