Age 16-18
Carlo had always relied on expensive garages to repair and service his beloved motorbike but after enrolling on New City College’s Motorcycle Maintenance evening class course, he now does it for free himself!
As well as saving him money in mechanic’s fees, the course has opened up opportunities where he has met new friends and found his love of learning again – in his mid-40s.
Carlo said: “I’d highly recommend taking up an evening course. It’s been great for my wellbeing and brought variety to my life. I’ve been out of school for a long time but going back to college and learning a new skill has been pretty life-changing for me.”
He enrolled after hearing about the course from friends and researching online.
He said: “I’ve been riding motorcycles for a long time but I’ve always had to rely on other people to do the maintenance and trouble-shooting. Now I’m learning to do that myself, which is a great feeling.
“We can actually bring in our own bikes and work on them, so it’s really beneficial. The facilities are great – we have a proper workshop with all the tools and gadgets available and the teachers are very knowledgeable.”
He feels one of the best things about the course is being able to put into practice what he has learnt. “We spend about 20% of the time on the theory and the rest working on our motorbikes in the workshop, so it’s quite cool to be able to apply straightaway the new skills we’ve learnt and use them to fix our own bikes.
“These skills will definitely be beneficial to me in the future too, whether I’m out on the road and having to do some trouble-shooting or whether I’m considering a career in the mechanics industry.”
