It’s not often you come across a female mechanic when dropping your car off for a service but local Year 11 student Natalie Toms is about to prove that women are just as good under the bonnet as men!

Natalie is a student at Gloucester High School as well as the newest employee of Turner Holden in Gloucester.

Natalie is breaking the mould of the traditionally male dominated automotive service industry by head starting her career as a motor mechanic while she is still at High School, through a School Based Traineeship. The traineeship will see Natalie complete her HSC while at the same time gaining an industry recognised Certificate II in Automotive Servicing and two years of valuable hands on work experience.

Natalie attends school at Gloucester High School three day per week, TAFE at North Coast Institute one day per week and works as a paid employee at Turner Holden one day per week.

Natalie and her family, who recently moved to Australia from the United Kingdom are understandably excited about Natalie’s traineeship. Natalie’s mum Rosemary Toms csaid that this opportunity would just not have been available to Natalie in the UK.

The School Based Traineeship program offers a win-win scenario for students and employers. Students leave school as ‘experienced workers’ and local employers gain an opportunity to recruit dedicated young people and train them for their specific industry needs.

School Based Traineeships are a fantastic initiative offering an innovative early pathway to a career in many different industries. Traineeships are available in many other industries such as Hospitality, Pharmacy, Retail, Information Technology and Business Services, just to name a few.

Kim Clarke invites local employers, students and parents who may be interested in knowing more about School Based Traineeships to contact her at the Department of Education and Training District Office on 02 6591 7624.