Kelvin Beattie, a former motor vehicle student from East Durham College's Technical Academy, is now employed full-time as a mechanic after completing three years of tuition with EDC.
Kelvin, who started on a Level 1 motor vehicle programme, worked hard for three years to achieve this qualification as well as Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications. During his time at EDC, Kelvin also expanded his career prospects by approaching John Fothergill, who owns The Garage LTD in Seaham, about completing some work experience with the company.
John accepted Kelvin on a work experience placement, and Kelvin was able to complete work at the garage while also completing his studies with EDC. Now that his studies are finished, Kelvin is working full-time at The Garage, putting the skills he has learned to good use.
When asked about his time at the Technical Academy at East Durham College, Kelvin said: "I really enjoyed my studies at the Tech Academy. It taught me the technical skills and theory I needed to successfully become a motor vehicle technician. The opportunity to do work experience while I was studying too was great - you can't beat getting hands-on experience of working in a real garage.
Kelvin now plans to continue working hard in his new role, and also expressed interest in returning to the Technical Academy to talk to some of our current motor vehicle students about his journey while studying at EDC and how completing his work experience programme helped him to secure full-time employment as a motor vehicle technician.
