Wurth knows the worth of investing in young people

Wurth Australia is helping improve training for new entrants to the Australian automotive industry.

As in many parts of the world, the Australian automotive industry is suffering from an image problem in terms of attracting young people into trade careers. Many young people still perceive the automotive trades as involving engine and elbow grease, rather than the high-tech reality of the modern workshop.

At the same time, employers have complained that apprentices are being trained on outdated equipment and that vocational training has not kept pace with technological advances in the industry.

Now a new state-of-the-art automotive training centre is aiming to address both of these issues. Wurth Australia has been a key player in its development, having committed to a 10-year sponsorship that will help the centre stay abreast of the latest technology, equipment and new product trends.

The Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) in Melbourne is set to become the largest and most advanced automotive training facility in the Southern Hemisphere. It will become a high profile, high technology beacon aimed at creating awareness and inspiring young people to consider a career in the automotive industry.

“The idea that the automotive industry has matured into a technologically-advanced sector has not caught on, particularly with young Australians,” said ACE Director Ray Griffiths. “The ACE will be a facility that epitomises the increasing sophistication of automotive technology, a facility that will inspire the automotive industry tradespeople of the future.”

The ACE has been developed in three stages. The Victorian State Government, recognising the importance of the automotive industry to the economy, funded the construction Stage One of the Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE), which will take its first students in August 2006. The first programs to be offered from the centre will be pre-apprenticeship, traineeship, apprenticeship and post-trade training for the vehicle body trades (vehicle bodymaking, panel beating and painting).

When the second and third stages of the ACE complex are constructed, the centre will offer training for all sectors of the automotive industry. Other features will include a conference centre, an industry centre and R&D facilities to be shared between several universities.

The ACE will provide an opportunity for the Australian automotive industry to come together and take a collaborative approach to research and development, pooling resources and research findings could make the industry stronger and more efficient.

The ACE will certainly become a focal point for the industry and this was a key factor in its choice of location. The state of Victoria is the hub of the Australian automotive industry, home to three of the four vehicle manufacturers, more than half of the industry's jobs, 58 per cent of its production, and more than 54 per cent of its exports. Located on the edge of Melbourne’s CBD in the newly redeveloped Docklands area, the ACE is also geographically at the centre of three major automotive companies: Toyota and Holden in Port Melbourne and Ford in Campbellfield, in Melbourne’s north.

The centre’s ultra-modern, sustainability award-winning building also promises to be a showcase for the automotive industry, hosting trade seminars, tours and special exhibitions.

Wurth Australia has been quick to see the opportunity to showcase itself to visitors to the centre, but most importantly, to the next generation of automotive tradespeople.

The ground floor of the three-ACE will provide training for the bodymaking and panel beating trades and Wurth Australia is supplying the entire area with toolboxes, mobile tool containers, consumables and named as

Wurth Body Trades WorkShop

The company has committed to a 10-year partnership with the centre and has agreed to continuously update the equipment as required to ensure the apprentices are up-to-date with the latest developments and that the centre retains its modern, fresh appearance.

According to ACE Director Ray Griffiths, “The ACE provides the opportunity to create an experience and engage apprentices to use certain products and equipment, instead of just exposing them to a brand.”

“Nearly 4,000 apprentices will pass through the centre each year and will have developed a strong loyalty to particular brands once they finish at the ACE”, Mr Griffiths said. And thanks to Wurth Australia, Wurth will be one of them.

For more information on the ACE see www.aceauto.com.au