Certificate in Automotive Trades

Gwenda Whelan still gets a few funny looks when people find out she’s a motor mechanic. “Being a female in the trade is quite a challenge, but that’s part of the enjoyment,” she says. “A lot of males come in and give you a weird look when they first see you in there.” But the 19-year-old automotive apprentice is unfazed. “I give them the background and then they start to see it’s not a whim situation and they seem to be quite accepting then.”

 Gwenda loves working at McFarlane Motors in Waitara. She landed the job after doing work placement there while studying for a Certificate in Automotive Trades at WITT last year.

“I enjoy the people I work with and I have an awesome boss and they don’t hold me back. If I want to learn to do something, they will show me,” she says.

Her road to fixing cars began a couple of years back. When she was in Year 12 at St Mary’s Diocesan School, Gwenda did a Gateway placement with Ansford Smith Motors in Stratford. In Year 13, she did a STAR automotive course at WITT and became even more hooked. “Then I decided to the certificate course because I really enjoyed it there.”

 The one-year course was worth every cent. “You get a rapport with the tutors and they are absolutely amazing. If you need any sort of extra help or need to be pushed further they cater to everyone’s abilities and go beyond the teaching role.”

 Her dream is to follow in her tutors’ tracks. “I would like to teach mechanics once I have quite a lot of industry experience. I want to be one of the people they were for me.”