Aiden’s passion for cars takes him far

Aiden Evans decided to become a mechanic and in Chisholm’s Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology. Now, the opportunities just keep on coming.

Aiden Evans’ life is all about cars.

He is a keen motorsports fan and has aspirations of one day building his own rally race car to compete in. For fun, Aiden does iRacing and loves going drifting with his mates at Winton on the weekends. So, when it came time to decide what he wanted to do for a career, it was a pretty obvious decision.

“I’ve always really liked cars,” he says. “My granddad was a really good mechanic and fabricator, so he got me into it and gave me a passion for it.”

In Year 11, Aiden began with VET studies and did a work placement at Mornington Mitsubishi and Isuzu ute. Everything went smoothly, and it developed into a school-based apprenticeship.

Aiden would work on a Wednesday and study at TAFE on a Friday, while still completing Year 11 and 12.

“It was really great because it gave me a jumpstart into an apprenticeship and took time off it (you can gain credit for some of the units),” he says.

Now in his third year of his Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology apprenticeship with All Tune Auto (as at April 2023), Aiden says he is so grateful for the support he received at Chisholm.

“To be honest, the teachers have been my favourite part of the experience,” he says. “They were always very friendly, always very informative; we always had fun and they made sure all the hands-on parts were very interesting.”

Aiden’s apprenticeship has been rewarding on so many levels – from awards nominations (Aiden won the Bill Norling Automotive Excellence award at the 2023 Chisholm Education Awards), to amazing work experience opportunities.

One of the biggest highlights was being able to work with Red Bull Racing at the V8 Supercars at Sandown in 2022.

“That was out of this world,” he says. “The opportunity came up through my apprenticeship company. I helped out in the pits and on Monday morning, they took me for a few hot laps in a supercar.”

As an apprentice mechanic, every day is different and exciting. Tasks can range from servicing cars and doing repairs, to bigger jobs like head gaskets or diagnostics.

“Diagnostics is actually my favourite part of the job,” says Aiden. “I love figuring out what’s wrong with cars.

“Chisholm taught me a lot of stuff to do with older cars and electrical stuff, which I’ve been using quite a lot.”

 Aiden offered his top tips for those considering becoming a mechanic.

“You definitely have to have a prior passion for it,” he says. “My biggest piece of advice is to never think you’re done learning. Once you stop learning, you stop being a mechanic because every day you’re learning more and more.”