The National Championship of Young Mechanics is no longer a one-day event, but a year-round cooperation of the Cooperatio Foundation and Championship Partners - including Autos with car schools, in order to support the education of future mechanics and provide them with a better start on the demanding labor market.
Radzyń Podlaski is a county town with a population of several thousand in the Lublin region, located far from industrial centers and international transit routes. It is safe to say that this region was a blank spot on the automotive map of Poland - until 2015, when a two-person team from this city took first place in the National Championships of Young Mechanics. This year, students from the Secondary School Complex of John Paul II from Radzyń Podlaski repeated this success. Winning twice in a row cannot be a coincidence, so what does the car in Radzyń have that its competitors lack? “Such successes take years to achieve. In our school, teachers teach with passion, who look for competitions and olympiads in which their students could prove themselves. We also organize internships for students in cooperation with companies operating on the local market. Thanks to this, our pupils can acquire skills that are not covered by the core curriculum, and this is what determines the victories in competitions" - emphasizes Grażyna Dzida, director of the school complex from Radzyń Podlaski.
It turns out that the success of the students from Radzyń in Poznań was widely heard. “Such a win motivates other students who are more willing to participate in extracurricular activities,” adds Paweł Leszak, a teacher of practical subjects at a school in Radzyń.
One of the prizes for winning the 5th National Championship of Young Mechanics was a professional training for students and teachers organized by Autos. In mid-May, a special car filled with equipment and training materials arrived at the school in Radzyń, and Bartosz Kantorek from the workshop equipment and training department of Autos conducted a full-day workshop covering two topics:
You need a dedicated diagnostic tester for a truck, in this case we have connected the Jaltest device to a DAF truck tractor, but otherwise the electronic diagnostics of a truck is very similar to the diagnostics of a passenger car. The use of the tester greatly speeds up repairs, which translates into increased profits for the garage,” says Bartosz Kantorek from Autos and adds: “There is a huge demand for truck mechanics in Poland. The Autos company has its own network of garages and is constantly looking for candidates. The best material is people who have completed vocational schools and technical schools, because it is easier to teach young people new competences than to unlearn bad habits from older people. A truck mechanic must understand the construction of the truck drive system, know the specifics of the suspension in such vehicles and be familiar with the operation of the pneumatic systems present in them.”
“The training organized by an employee of an automotive company is a completely different, more professional knowledge. For students, this is a real clash with the reality of the market, which opens their eyes, because we are not able to pass it on ourselves at school. Besides, teachers also benefit from such trainings,” says Paweł Leszak. By talking to a person who operates in the automotive market, they can learn that a person educated as a car mechanic is not "doomed" to work in a sewer with his hands always covered with grease. “Today, mechanics have a much better future ahead of them. Modern cars require more and more computer diagnostics, which is why a specialist in his field works more and more often with a tablet in his hand,” adds Karol Michalak, a teacher of practical vocational training at ZSP in Radzyń. "What's more, you can become a salesman in a branch of an automotive parts distributor, a supplier, a warehouseman, and even a trainer like me" - sums up Bartosz Kantorek from Autos.
And how has winning changed the lives of winners? "There is no reduced fare with us, after winning they have to apply themselves to learning just as much as before" - assures director Grażyna Dzida. Kamil Rakowski, who competed in tandem with last year's winner, Damian Siwek, was going to Poznań with the hope of winning. “When I saw the tasks, they didn't seem particularly difficult to me and I felt prepared. We stumbled a bit while assembling the diesel engine head, I ran out of time in this competition. In the end we won. What changed? I learned a lot, got nice awards and I feel that it paved the way for me for the next years of my life. Now I am sure that I want to become a professional mechanic,” assures Kamil Rakowski. “I recommend every car school student to participate in the National Championships of Car Mechanics, because it is a great opportunity for the entire industry to show themselves and learn new things,” adds Damian Siwek.
Elaboration: Autos based on the material of the Cooperatio Foundation
