High school students race to CQ TAFE to build raft
Friday, 30 October 2009 4:17PM - Mackay Campus
News in brief:
Building a raft at CQ TAFE has provided the greatest success - an apprenticeship for 12 high school students.
News in detail:
The building of this raft has given the students from seven local schools the opportunity to obtain training towards the Certificate II in Engineering.
One of the students, Evander Mellie that received an apprenticeship from the project said "It's been great - the raft was built from four catamarans and is powered by 10 push bikes.
CQ TAFE teacher Paul Kelly said the raft-building exercise was a way to give students practical engineering experience.
"They now have the skills to weld and do basic fabrication so when they get on the shop floor, they can start work straight away,"Mr Kelly said.
Fitting and Machining teacher, Josh Van Loenen who also worked on the project said "this project was not possible without the sponsorship from Protec, NQ Chemical and Paints and Atlas Metals. These companies helped make the raft project possible."
The students showed off the craft at the 2009 Mackay Raft Race on the Mackay Pioneer River on October 3, which is a major fundraiser for the Childhood Cancer Support.
The students and teachers learnt a lot from the race day and there are talks about building a bigger and better raft next year.
For more information on the Institute's Engineering programs, telephone 1300 CQ TAFE (1300 27 8233) or visit www.cq.tafe.qld.gov.au
Submitted By:Greg Chapman