Lecturer for 30 years

Ken Whitbread will celebrate 30 years of heavy automotive lecturing this Christmas and the 61-year-old isn’t shifting down a gear any time soon.

“One of the best things about teaching in this industry is that it forces you to keep advancing your own knowledge,” Mr Whitbread said.

“There’s a lot of electronics involved in modern day automotives which some people don’t like and struggle with, but I love.”

The South West Institute of Technology lecturer began teaching after compiling a solid knowledge of his trade working for the Department of Civil Aviation and Telecom Australia (now Telstra).

“Those jobs were incredibly interesting because of the wide variety of machinery I had the opportunity to work on,” he said.

“Powerhouses, fire vehicles, luggage handling equipment and then across Telecom Australia’s entire ground fleet there was a lot to learn.

“When an opportunity to move to the classroom in 1982 came up I thought about it long and hard because I enjoyed my work.

“Growing up my father always wanted to be a teacher but ended up spending his whole life working as a moulder and I think that definitely influenced me.”

For Mr Whitbread, the best part of his job is being able to help shape the future of so many young people.

“I love it when someone that I taught years and years ago comes up and thanks me for the influence I had on their life,” he said.