Driveline Mechanic Profile
When I was younger, my uncle was a motor mechanic so I decided to follow in his footsteps. He and I were fairly close, so I was always looking for any opportunity to muck about in his workshop. Funny thing is, I just saw it as a bit of fun, something to past the time during the holidays. But by the time I was 15 I had developed a fair bit of knowledge on cars, which only fuelled my passion to enter the automotive industry.
I left school at a young age, which wasn’t out of the ordinary back then because it was fairly easy to get a good job in the automotive industry. Although I have noticed things are a lot different these days – it is a lot more difficult to enter the industry simply because many employers will only consider people who have completed their high school certificate.
After completing my apprenticeship I began working as a motor mechanic, however I noticed a position opened up at an independent workshop in Melbourne that had a fairly prestigious name. So I decided to apply for the job of Driveline Mechanic. In all honesty I wasn’t entirely sure what a Driveline Mechanic did, but I gave it a go anyway and things have turned out pretty good.
The work I do
I have been working as a Driveline Mechanic for well over 10 years now. Essentially, this job involves working on a number of different vehicles including light and heavy vehicles, motorcycles, plant and outdoor power equipment.
Duties often include the carrying out of diagnostic procedures, the servicing, repair and overhaul of clutch assemblies and overhaul, the servicing and repair of manual and automatic transmissions and final drive assemblies and drivelines.
In addition, it is also necessary to service engines, as well as do a bit of work with the electronic systems such as repair electronic drive management systems, carry out minor repairs to electrical circuits and systems and finally preparing the vehicle or equipment for customer use.
Initially I didn’t understand how much this role involved the use of electronics. Rarely do I come across a car that doesn’t require the use of some form of electrical diagnostic equipment. But I love this challenge – I can never afford to slacken off or I will lose pace with the latest technological developments.
My workplace
The facilities here are pretty spectacular. It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie some days with all of the electronic equipment about. They really invest in a lot of equipment here. The workshop is fairly spacious, which allows us to work comfortably, plus we even have showers and a lunchroom, which is very handy.
Considering the size of our workshop, we only have a small crew working here. We like it that way because we are all friends now, instead of just colleagues. We tend to work really well together because we spur each other on, a bit of friendly rivalry never goes astray.
Education and training
Basically since I have taken on this role, I needed a Certificate III
in Automotive (Mechanical – Driveline) to be a fully qualified tradesperson.
After a few years working here I was competent enough to apply for Recognition
of Prior Learning. This was fantastic because I could be recognised and
then accredited for knowing what I already knew!
>> course/qualification
Why I love this industry…
I am really excited about the direction of the automotive industry. It doesn’t take a genius to realise that the cars are becoming so technologically advanced, that I know I’m going to be working with some pretty amazing equipment and components in the near future, if not now!
The stale image of the dirty motor mechanic is so far removed from reality. The workplace is in such good shape these days, simply because of all the electronics in cars. You can’t afford to have grease and oil lying around the place; the components are too sensitive.
So I know if I continue my commitment to work hard, it won’t be long before I am using the best equipment and working at the forefront of automotive technology, and that to me is pretty exciting.