Tooling up for careers
TEENAGERS taking part in a unique Geelong program are not being sheltered from the outside world.
By pushing the students to volunteer for emergency services and receive driving lessons from as young as Year 10, they are being developed for adulthood and a variety of careers.
From practical skills through to confronting safety training, it’s hands-on and lifechanging preparation for the workforce.
The Geelong Industry Trade Training Centre has been operating in the northern suburbs for the past five years.
Based at Northern Bay College’s Goldsworthy campus, the centre attracts students from schools from as far as Wyndham Shire through to Belmont and Hamlyn Heights.
The students come in weekly from across the region, and are exposed to automotive, carpentry, construction, engin- eering and hospitality.
“If kids don’t know what they want to do, it’s a good way to try out some different options,” teacher Phil Knight said.
To complement the practical lessons, Mr Knight has built a strong community network that includes the SES, CFA, Victoria Police and the Western District Car Club.
Volunteers from the car club take teens out to their driving track at Avalon, where they teach them how to start a car and park it. For aspiring automotive workers, it is the type of training that can give them an edge in gaining an apprenticeship.
With the CFA and SES offering safety training, students have been motivated to volun- teer their time with the service organisations, Mr Knight said.
It is all about providing them with a more rounded perspective and a broader range of life skills, which makes them more employable, he said.