Well Done Cat

Derby College has officially recognised the hard work and dedication of students and staff at the 10th annual Peak Awards event held at The Roundhouse vocational campus.

Catherine receives her award from Graham Schumacher of Rolls-Royce plc.  Photo courtesy of Derby College

More than 70 students and staff were presented with awards at the glittering ceremony which was organised as the climax of the annual College’s festival to showcase the talents of students across all campuses.
 

Among the winners was motor vehicle apprentice Catherine Treanor (19) from Duffield who won the Manufacturing and Engineering Apprenticeship award in recognition of her achievements and her work to raise the profile of the industry amongst young women.

Catherine at work at Station Garage Belper

Catherine has done presentations to school pupils and as part of International Women’s Day and has also recently returned from Germany where she spent two weeks working for a VQ Audi dealership in Gera as part of a work exchange programme involving Derby College and other European learning providers. Catherine, who is an apprentice at Good Garage Scheme member garage, Station Garage in Belper – attending Derby College on day release – was chosen for the exchange because of her work ethic and willingness to learn German.

She said: “It was an amazing experience and has definitely given me a taste for working abroad.

I was really honoured to be chosen for this exchange and took this opportunity very seriously – working hard to learn as much German as I could and getting the most out of the whole experience.”

Catherine has continued to educate women about how to look after their cars during a recent Ladies' Evening at Station Garage Belper where over 40 ladies attended and were shown how to check the oil and what is not included during an MOT inspection.

The Good Garage Scheme would like to thank Derby College for permission to post this blog.

Ladies Evening at Station Garage Belper

Good Garage Scheme member garage, Station Garage (Belper), held a Ladies Evening on 10th July 2013. Local businesses such as hair salons and beauty salons also helped to promote the evening with leaflets and advertising.

Around 40 ladies attended on the evening and were advised about checking levels underneath the bonnet by Catherine (Cat) Treaner, 3rd Year apprentice at Station Garage. Attendees were also given the opportunity to check oil levels for themselves.

The ladies were also shown an oil and filter change by Good Garage Scheme representative, Chris Poynton, who explained how quickly new oil is contaminated if the engine is not flushed first, demonstrating with samples of oil from a car in the workshop.

Jason Curzon of Station Garage explained what is checked during an MOT and more importantly, what is not checked. He explained that an MOT is not a service and that many people believe that having an MOT is all that is required.

Some of the ladies who attended commented that is was a very enjoyable evening and said they would be interested in coming along to another event later in the year for advice about making sure their cars are prepared for the winter months on the road.

As well as all of the advice and demonstrations given on the night, Station Garage Belper also managed to raise money to support their chosen charity, Action -medical research for children, with all proceeds from refreshments sold on the evening going to the charity.

For more information about Action, visit www.action.org.uk.

Well done to the team at Station Garage Belper and everyone who made the Ladies Evening such a successful event.