Articles by Cara Jenkin

Stuart Martin and Cara Jenkin compare the BMW M4 against the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, Nissan GT-R and Audi RS5.

Manufacturing workers must get a trade to survive the jobs decline as the industry morphs into providing high tech, high value products rather than mass production of basic goods. The nation's competitive advantage over cheap labour markets overseas is in high quality, timely, niche and specialised technical goods. It requires a skilled workforce in trades including engineering and welding. Already Manufacturing Skills Australia reports that 95 per cent of employers are struggling to find qualified technical and trade staff, despite its predictions that there will be 30,400 fewer jobs in the industry nationally in 2016. Leading by example with training is the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce -- the peak Automotive Industry body in Victoria – which this week saw the graduation of 102 apprentices, all of whom have obtained full-time employment. “VACC is proud to play its part in supplying trained and skilled employees into the automotive industry,” VACC Executive Director, David Purchase, says. “VACC supports skills, training and careers in the retail, service and repair sector of the automotive industry and is the largest employer of automotive apprentices in Victoria and Tasmania. We provide the training, mentoring and practical experience with our host employers. It is very exciting to see one hundred and two young men and women start, what we hope will be, very successful careers in the automotive industry,” Mr Purchase said. Overall employment growth of up to 2.4 per cent a year to 2016 is forecast in food production, chemical, printing and primary metal manufacturing. In the same period, employment in clothing, furniture, fabricated metal and paper manufacturing is expected to fall by up to 4 per cent a year. MSA chief executive Bob Paton said there was a need and capacity for Australia to produce high quality goods. He urges young people to get a trade and those who already are in the industry to pursue adult apprenticeships, have their existing skills recognised by a training provider as a qualification or undertake any training to top up their skills so that they can get qualified. He said the industry was undergoing a restructure to try and find its place in the global market. "Instead of very simple transformation of a raw metal to a simple product, it's becoming more highly complex and a specialised product,'' he said. "The goal would be to moving out of low value added products to more high value added. "Working as a maintenance person who would go in and hang up his brain for the day -- that sort of job doesn't exist anymore. We need people who are smart, reasonably well trained and educated and willing to continue their development.'' Products which Australia could excel in include making intricate medical equipment, automated machines or goods made on demand for immediate delivery, which Mr Paton said required a "switched on'' workforce. "It's about finding our place to what we want to make and consume in Australia, what we want to export and the opportunities are there in Australia,'' he said. The Federal Government reports manufacturing is the only industry in which employment is forecast to decline in the five years to 2016. However Puchase says despite the calls for more trade training, the job slump is down to the economy. “Australia’s automotive industry is already highly skilled and the sad thing about the recent redundancy announcements and component supplier issues is that it is economic related. In no sense are these issues related to the calibre of the automotive industry’s workforce. Our local automotive manufacturers employ high quality, well skilled employees that would be the envy of any industry. “The automotive industry is interesting because there is a need for high-tech, plug-in diagnostic and information based skills. For young people in particular, with computer skills, there are plenty of opportunities. “At the other end of the scale, because the average age of our national fleet is 12 years, it means there are still many vehicles that require a ‘grease and oil change’. Again, there are plenty of opportunities for apprentices, as there is a demand for ‘traditional’ workshop skills and employees who know their way around the tool kit. “VACC works across the skills spectrum to deliver training akin to life-long learning. For trades, there’s the auto-apprenticeship scheme which has just graduated more than one hundred newly qualified employees into the retail, service and repair sector of the automotive industry. VACC is the largest employer of automotive apprentices in Victoria, employing more than 500 young men and women, and mature aged students “We enable young automotive designers to promote their skills through Target 2030 a design event for secondary and tertiary students in Victoria. They require a different set of skills including design, technical drawing, theory and practical conceptual awareness, environmental and infrastructure design. You still need hands-on skills, but these hands use pens, keyboards, modelling clay, wood and so on, to design the vehicles we will be driving in the year 2030. And we supply the business community with training packages provided by VACC working closely with Auto Skills Australia and the Skills Development Centre. BY THE NUMBERS $1.5 billion is the amount the automotive industry contributes to the Australian economy each year 81 per cent of the workforce is employed full time and 81 per cent are male 76 per cent of automotive trades workers are motor mechanics 26.2 per cent of motor mechanics are 15-24 years old compared to the national average of 16.9 per cent 39.7 hours is the average working week for automotive electricians, compared to a workforce average of 41.3 hours a week Take control of your career with CareerOne.com.au and the CareerOne section in your newspaper. Find the job you want, learn about industry and workplace trends, get job search tips, interview guides and much more.

It also doesn't help that Holden's 1980s version of the small diesel car – the dodgy Gemini diesel – has become a joke among Holden's fleet.While the Gemini I own is petrol-powered, I still cop its cousin's flak.Bless the car gods for the invention of turbo.The Astra Turbo Diesel is thankfully much improved on the Gemini model and after cruising in it for a week, diesel now looks to be a good option.I could be sensible and rave about the fantastic fuel economy.My dad did marvel at the fact that I could fill up a jerry can with fuel and have enough to get me around town for a week.Sometimes, diesel also costs less at the pump than unleaded fuel. But what I liked about this car was that it had the grunt and toughness of a Kenworth truck.Before you even get in the car, the key operates like a "gansta"-style flick knife – press a button and the key flicks out. I felt very safe walking to my car at night.The exterior styling is sporty and macho, and when you turn on the engine, the Astra gives off a rumble which sends out the message "you don't want to mess with me".It is not the zippiest of cars through traffic and it takes a little bit of time to get off the line.But once the turbo kicks in, you're off.This is not a car you can get bored with. Several driving modes and settings also offer plenty to do when stuck at the lights. The six-speed auto transmission changes to manual with a flick of the wrist. Sport mode can be switched on in both manual and auto.Mix and match to suit the conditions, desired fuel economy or even your mood.The computer dash display has different settings to keep an eye on during the trip. I set the stopwatch to measure how long it took to travel short distances.The computer also can tell you what day it is, which can be handy for those early blurry-brained mornings.The interior did seem to lack the attention given to the outside and the only handy bit of storage is the glove box, which has a removable divider to increase its size. There was no holder for me to stash my cup, mobile phone or loose change.The steering wheel controls for the stereo and dash computer were fiddly and the stereo system sounded weak.So I just turned the stereo down and listened to the turbo booster and engine rumble. CAPTION (astra) Holden Astra Turbo Diesel. Diesel deliversHolden Astra Turbo DieselGreat fuel economy.Turbo provides the necessary power to offset the slow diesel engine.Sporty style and grunty engine sound.Six speed manual transmission for trips on the open road.Lack of storage.Fiddly steering wheel controls.Limited back seat space.

My choice was between my dad's very cool Datsun 1600 and a test drive of the Toyota Yaris sedan.Embarrassing for my reputation as a revhead but, in consultation with my empty purse, I chose the Yaris which, handily, came with a full fuel tank. And the Yaris was not so embarrassing after all.Sure, she did not have the grunt or the pizazz of the cars I generally prefer to drive, but then she was no slacker either. She cruised very smoothly through traffic and with a bit of foot pumping took off from the lights at a reasonable pace.And this car had sensational cup holders. They sprang open with a small push and were placed very handy on the right-hand side of the dash for the driver. So handy, in fact, I bought a meal from Hungry Jack's one night just so I could use it.There was another cup holder on the passenger side of the dash, but passengers in the rear had to fight over the single holder which pops out from the centre glove box.It is that attention to quirky detail which helps this car stand out from the others in the market.The up-front reading lights also operated with a one-touch push.There were two things the Toyota man and motoring writers had to say that were great about this car – the centre dash speedo and the giant boot. The centre dash speedo is apparently in a safer position, the explanation being it allows the eyes to drift slightly sideways but still remain on the road.I had trouble sticking to the speed limit and found I had to rely on my judgment of speed a lot more with the speedo in the centre dash. I felt I took my eyes off the road more to glance sideways than if the speedo had been behind the steering wheel.As for the boot, it was so big I could have almost carried passengers in it comfortably.Like most modern cars, I found it hard to judge distances between the rear and nose of the Yaris, as I couldn't see them. The automatic-transmission version was a little tricky to navigate, as the shift zigs and zags down to gear.Thankfully, the Yaris has a very decent stereo with MP3 player as standard, which gave out a good sound. So the only embarrassing bit about the Yaris was at the end of the week, when I realised drivers of other cars on the road all heard my loud music.LOVE IT LEAVE ITToyota Yaris SedanPrice: $17,690 (manual) $19,190 (test driven auto)LOVE ITAttention to detail – nifty push-touch operation of cup holders and reading lights.Engine's powerful enough to zip through traffic with ease.Roomy rear seat.Even roomier boot, useful for carrying large objects.LEAVE ITCentre dash speedo display – I did not get used to itTricky to select the right gear at three-point turns.Parking difficult as car's nose and rear are out of vision.

Then there was the rematch during the ride as I dropped them both home.But it is hard not to want to race when there is 260kW of power bursting from the V8 engine.It did not matter if there was no one at the lights to race me – I wanted to get to my destination right now.It makes the XR8 a little wasted on the city streets, but a muscle car is still a lot of fun. And what kind of girl does not like muscles?I squealed the wheels just about every time I took off around a corner or from traffic lights.Not on purpose, of course.Although it wasn't so much fun when I nearly lost control on a wet road in a residential area, as I took off from one of these corners.I can see why stability and traction control is a necessity, not an extra.So much power under the hood must be respected but it makes this car all so sexy.It certainly gets the attention of a lot of boys on and off the road, so a Saturday night cruise through the city was a must to test out the XR8's handling.With a group of fellas fighting over who got to ride shotgun, I immediately knew travelling with fellow revheads would be a challenge in this car.There were the inevitable calls to do a burnout on every street and to floor it to get a feel for the XR8's speed. But I kept the hooning in check and the boys were happy to turn their attentions to a power-window race.Don't get me wrong – not being of the Ford persuasion, there were plenty of quirks about the XR8 to annoy me. For starters, the power bulge on the bonnet has no use at all but to sit annoyingly in the corner of the driver's eye.Plus no girl has the desire for a decoration named "power bulge" to protrude from her car.For a vehicle with so much power, the dashboard display makes driving at a safe speed very difficult.The notches on the speedometer are so close together, it is hard to read the lower speed markings of 25, 40 and 50km/h necessary for South Australian driving.It is very impressive to see that the XR8 appears to have the guts to get to 260km/h. However, unless you are a regular on Northern Territory highways, topping that speed is rare and illegal driving behaviour.An after-market stereo would be a must as the standard system had a tendency to pop at high bass and volume levels.The XR8 makes a very good point of being a sporty-styled car – with racing pedals, rear spoiler, alloy wheels – but the standard exhaust system was a let-down.It was nowhere near loud enough for me to make my entrance.I would just have to get used to leaving others in my wake instead.LOVE IT LEAVE ITFord BF Falcon XR8Price: $52,580LOVE ITParking was a breeze – a very tight turning circle.Comfy leather seatsSports transmission, for those who prefer to manually shift gearsPower and rumble of a V8LEAVE ITKeeping a watchful eye on the letterbox for the speeding ticketsPower bulge styling on the bonnetCup holders in the way of the gearshift