Council and College “Go Green” with cars

Carshalton College will be working in collaboration with Croydon Council from September and providing Apprentices, students and trainees on Motor Vehicle courses with the latest car models to work on.

The Parking Enforcement Division at Croydon Council, who have at their disposal a number of cars suitable for training purposes including BMW’s, Audi’s, VW and Mercedes cars to name a few. They will now be providing the models as an integral part of the student’s course at Carshalton College, allowing students to practise maintenance and repairs on the models supplied.

The use of the cars will be beneficial to students by giving them the chance to work on vehicles with up to date specifications such as climate control and remote central locking.  The College takes delivery of its first 4 vehicles in early September, these and consequent cars will be rotated every 8 weeks by the Enforcement Team to keep the students engaged by having a variety of vehicles to maintain and repair. The College can also request certain specifications on the cars to meet the qualification requirements for the training course.

In addition to the modern vehicles, students will also be using the latest Bosch diagnostic equipment to find faults with the cars. The existing cars at the College that students have used in the past are being recycled with any useful parts being removed first and offered to trade.

The collaboration is unique and first of its kind. Brian Stiling, Business Services Consultant at Carshalton College, approached Croydon Council with the idea for recycling the cars that are recovered and then scrapped, with the College using them for educational purposes.

“We hope this is the first of many ‘green’ collaborations working with local partners and are very pleased to have formed a relationship with Croydon Council. It is an exciting opportunity for students to work on industry recognised machinery and equipment and for the College to be part of this recycling programme.”

Mirsad Bakalovic, Head of Parking Services at Croydon Council, agreed that this exciting venture would be of benefit to the community. Mirsad said: “The Council is happy to help the college, community and students in providing these vehicles and hopes that it makes their experience as fulfilling as possible.”

The first delivery of cars will be at the end of August in time for students enrolling from September. For more details on our Apprenticeships, please visit www.carshalton.ac.uk

For more information, please contact

Maxine Alexander, Marketing and Publicity Manager

e: maxine.alexander@carshalton.ac.uk  t: 0208 544 4558