MTA Training and Employment has been awarded as a finalist in the Large Training Provider of the Year category at the 2024 South Australian Training Awards.
Recognising its unique connection to the automotive industry, a recent change to its training model led to a 25 per cent growth in apprentice numbers, cementing MTA Training and Employment’s position as one of South Australia’s best Large Training Provider.
MTA SA/NT CEO Darrell Jacobs expressed pride in the organisation’s progress towards its strategic vision, “A little more than two years ago we said that we wanted to be the best automotive skills provider in South Australia. I am encouraged by the recognition that we have received.”
The connection to the automotive industry informed not only MTA Training and Employment’s training model, but also its pioneering school pathways and apprentice mentoring programs, as well as Australia’s first automotive dual trade apprenticeships.
Reflecting on the transformational change in the automotive industry and the rise in hybrid and battery electric vehicles, Mr. Jacobs added “Our job is to make sure that businesses and apprentices are ready for whatever enters the workshop.”
Mr Jacobs said that while running an industry non-government training organisation is hard work, it created a deep sense of purpose for the organisation and its employees, “This is more than just a job.”
He added, “We are in the business of changing the lives of young South Australians. We support an industry worth over $2 billion to our state’s economy through 5,000 business who employ 27,000 South Australians.”
Background
MTA Training and Employment, the Motor Trade Association SA/NT’s (MTA) fully-accredited registered training organisation (RTO), delivers nationally-recognised, industry-leading automotive vocational education and training to more than 1,100 apprentices across nine automotive trades.
MTA Training and Employment has training locations at the MTA Royal Park Training and Employment Centre, MTA Cleve Automotive Skills Centre, as well as in industry at Bordertown.
MTA Training and Employment is accountable to the MTA’s 1,200 members in South Australia and responsible for the training delivered to more than 450 apprentices employed by its group training organisation. Importantly, all parts of the MTA, including MTA Training and Employment, are industry not-for-profit. Every dollar MTA Training and Employment makes is reinvested into the industry.
Launching at the beginning of 2023, MTA Training and Employment’s innovative ‘blended’ model offers apprentices more time and flexibility to apply their learning in their workplace, providing additional benefits for them and their employers.
Informed by the MTA’s 1,200 members in South Australia, MTA Training and Employment ensures that apprentices are trained to the highest standards of the national curriculum and responsive to the latest industry needs and technologies. Furthermore, MTA Training and Employment services diverse customers not only across automotive, but beyond to industries such as mining and emergency services.
MTA Training and Employment is a leader in hybrid and battery electric vehicle training, launching South Australia’s first dedicated electric vehicle training centre in June 2023. Since then, MTA Training and Employment has deepened its commitment to hybrid and electric vehicle training by upgrading its Royal Park facility with a new Automotive Technology Vehicle Centre.
In an Australian first, MTA Training and Employment successfully applied to the South Australian Skills Commission for the first and second automotive dual trade apprenticeships Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology and Automotive Electrical Technology, and Heavy Commercial Vehicle Mechanical Technology and Automotive Electrical Technology.
These dual trade apprenticeships reduce the time of undertaking two separate qualifications and importantly, provide apprentices with the skills they need to work in a rapidly evolving automotive industry with more zero and low emission vehicles.
The MTA Training and Employment’s pioneering School Pathways Program, combined with the extraordinarily successful Automotive Mentor Program, reinforce the MTA Training and Employment’s reputation as the South Australian leader in trade commencements and retention.
MTA Training and Employment is committed to training the next generation of South Australian automotive apprentices and enabling a bright future for the state’s automotive industry.
