MTAQ’s Auto Initiation training program

The Motor Trades Association of Queensland (MTAQ) has launched a ‘pre-vocational’ nine-week course designed to give youngsters aspiring to an automotive career the basic knowledge, technical and life skills to boost their confidence and ready them for the job market.

A five-week practical element includes safe work practices, the use and maintenance of tools and equipment, electrical and mechanical systems fundamentals and the removal and tagging of engine components.

The two-weeks life skills component covers language, literacy and numeracy plus motivation, managing emotions, setting goals, financial management and First Aid before students undertake work experience placements in the final fortnight.

Already underway with 18 students at the MTAQ’s Sir Jack Brabham Automotive Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, the program will also be delivered by MTA trainers in regional areas including Bundaberg, Gladstone, Gold Coast, Hervey Bay, Mackay, Mount Isa, Rockhampton, Sunshine Coast and Townsville.

The program is delivered under the State Government’s Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative, aimed at providing skills development, training and job opportunities for unemployed, disengaged or disadvantaged people in the Sunshine State.