Dedication to heavy vehicles leads John to excel
18 May 2004
While John Ryan has already proven his ability as a student by winning the Regional World Skills competition he can now add a Gold Medal as the top student in the School of Automotive.
John, who is in the fourth year of his apprenticeship in Heavy Vehicles is totally dedicated to learning as much as he can about his chosen field of work. He travelled two and half hours from Traralgon to attend classes at the Coburg campus for three years.
The skills he has gained from both on and off-the-job training enhance John's natural ability with motors. "The TAFE training was very good, it gave me time to find out exactly how things work," said John.
The support from his TAFE teachers, Gippsland Group Training and host employer, John O'Connor of JW & HL O'Connor Transport, Morwell was also an important factor for John's success. "I get a lot of support from my boss, from Greg Lavell, a mechanic who gave me a lot of practical experience on different machines," he said.
John's dream is to one day work for Caterpillar, a company he admires a great deal, and plans to do some specialised training in electronics and engine management when he has finished trade school.
Automotive manager, Emile Farag, says John has always been a top student and sees a big future ahead for the young apprentice.
Kangan Batman TAFE has 24,000 students across its seven campuses in Broadmeadows, Moreland, Richmond, Craigieburn, Coburg, Avondale Heights and Essendon.
Each year in May, Kangan Batman TAFE conducts two graduation ceremonies at the Moonee Valley Racecourse to accommodate all of its graduates and award-winning students.
The second ceremony, at which John will receive his award, will be held on Friday 21 May 2004. D+D Global Group is major sponsor of the ceremony, while the Jobs Plus is supporting sponsor.
