College students working towards qualifications in the motor industry are about to find their classes go up a gear thanks to a donation by a major car firm.
Vauxhall Motors have donated two brand new engines to the East Coast College's Lowestoft Campus, formerly known as Lowestoft College, to help students get to grips with the latest automotive technology.
Previously, the college students have been examining, disassembling and reassembling old engines.
But the donation, worth around £2,000, means students can learn all about the latest engines, which will help them prepare for careers in the motor industry.
Technical instructor Ian Fisher who leads some of the college's classes said: 'It's great for them to have brand new components, it will be a big help. We'll be using the engines for the students to do work on and it's really opened the door for us with Vauxhall as well.'
Level 1 Light Vehicle Maintenance student Stewart McCafferty is among the young people who will have the chance to work on the new engines.
'They're extremely clean and tidy,' he said. 'They're a lot neater, more compact and definitely better than the ones we're working on now!
'It gives us more of an insight into the industry as well because you get all different types of engines.'
The generous donation came about thanks to help from Business In The Community - one of the Prince of Wales's charities.
Business connector Trevor Edwards liaised between Vauxhall and East Coast College, which had another two engines donated to its Great Yarmouth campus.
Mr Edwards approached the college with details about the scheme, and then put forward a business case to Vauxhall explaining why East Coast College would benefit from the brand new engines.
They were then delivered to a local dealership for collection and have now been mounted at the college, ready for students to work on.
'It's a great example of national businesses working with the community to help young kids get the knowledge to help go onto gainful employment in the local area,' he said.
Is your business helping the local community? Email lowestoft.journal@archant.co.uk
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