When you think about the NSW Ambulance Rescue Helicopter you probably think about the pilots, medical crew and patients that passenger them. What you probably don’t think about is the team of engineers and the work they put in to ensure that these eight helicopters are maintained to 94% availability.
Jeff Bahls, the Team Leader and Chief Engineer with the Toll Ambulance Rescue Helicopter Service, knows all too well how crucial it is to ensure that his team is on their game to keep these helicopters in the air. He also knows that with an aging workforce, it is crucial to ensure the future of his workforce, which is why Toll made the decision to partner with WPC Group to recruit the first of their apprentice aero skills mechanical.
WPC Group are specialists in connecting employers and industry to leading entry-level talent. When it comes to hiring and managing apprentices and trainees, they do the hard yards so employers won’t have to. Since 1982, they’ve been honing their expertise in matching job seekers with sustainable and meaningful jobs in industry and supporting them in those early career years.
“WPC Group do that every day. They’re selecting apprentices every day and working with people, so they know who’s going to be a good apprentice and who’s not,” Jeff said. “They provided us with about 5 people, we filtered through and chose 2-3 of those guys to interview.”
“We needed someone who was keen. There is a very consistent workload, of which is very precise and accurate,” he said. “There is no room for error, so we needed someone who understood that.”
And that’s when WPC Group put Lance Satara’s resume on Jeff’s desk.
Lance had always had a passion for automotive, so when it came time for him to consider his career path, he knew it would be in the automotive field, but he also knew that he wanted something a little more niche.
“I’ve always been mechanically minded in a sense because I’ve worked on motorbikes and cars at home… So, I am like what’s above motorbikes, boats and cars? That’s when I decided on Aviation.”
But first, he wanted to be sure it was the right pathway for him so he undertook his cert II in Aero Skills Mechanical. Not only did he love it, but he also had the opportunity to compete in WorldSkills and was awarded first in the state, third in Australia and was in the top 6 TAFE students of the year.
He knew that being a niche field, securing an apprenticeship may take some time, and he had even considered moving to Queensland to gain his license. Fortunately, thanks to the partnership between Toll and WPC Group, Lance was able to secure a job in NSW and work with some of the leaders in Aero Skills Mechanical.
“the team push him to know that this is a great opportunity to end up with an engineering license, an enormous amount of firsthand experience on a very popular helicopter type … it’s a massive head start,” Jeff said. “But we definitely selected the right person, that’s one of the most important things… you need someone who actually wants to do what you’re offering the apprenticeship in.”
Lance and his family definitely agree that his hard work has paid off.
“Toll is the dream job of aviation within Australia,” he said. “I didn’t even know about Toll, they were too high from my goals I couldn’t even imagine it being an option.”
“The team always try to take it a step forward even more when explaining something… they’ll say, ‘alright let’s jump onto the helicopter and I’ll explain it to you physically, it’s right there’.”
“It was a gift for me to get this job but my family are so proud of me that I cannot put it in words.”
If you’re in NSW or the ACT and you want to find out more about becoming or hiring an Australian Apprentices, visit the WPC Website here.
This article has been developed with the support of the Apprenticeship Employment Network NSW and ACT (AEN NSW & ACT). The AEN NSW & ACT is the peak body representing a network of independent, not-for-profit Group Training Organisations in NSW and ACT and forms part of a national network of group training associations.
