Amoy invited Vantaa Vocational College Varia to explore the new premises for automotive painting. Students got to familiarize themselves with equipment that brands, such as Ferrari and Lamborghini, use in their factories. It is not a traditional vocational college training facility but professional-level premises built by Amoy, a company specializing in car painting products and training.
The cooperation of Amoy and Vantaa Vocational College Varia starts already for the second semester. The welcoming words of the Open Day are given by Heikki Kutja, teacher of Varia’s car painting line.
“Car painting is a great field. When picking up their cars from the car repair shop, customers see them waiting ready outside. And the mark of the painter’s work is immediately visible. This work requires precision, artistry, and you get to be a bit of a chemist, too,” explains Kutja.
The first group of 80 students participating in the Open Day, who must decide the direction of their profession, is sitting in front. Vocational qualification in the vehicle sector lets students become vehicle mechanics, vehicle body repairers, vehicle painters, or car salespeople.
The students are introduced to standard tools and equipment used in automotive painting. The modern technologies are top-notch, as the same spray booths are delivered to Ferrari and Lamborghini, for example.
Amoy’s professionals provide their knowledge and help to create up-to-date teaching material. For the first time, the STAMP training program created by BASF, one of the world’s largest chemical producers, is also used in teaching. When creating the curriculum, sections from STAMP are also combined with it. Furthermore, Amoy shares its plans to digitize the entire teaching material.
“I have seen a lot of facilities and, oh, how lucky are the ones who get to study with this equipment. Amoy provides first-hand information for us teachers and you students: the knowledge that is out of reach of professionals worldwide,” says Kutja.
There is a separate classroom next to the training facilities so new skills can be learned in theory and immediately put into practice. Meals are arranged similarly to the vocational school’s facilities, and students can easily travel to Koivuhaka in Vantaa by public transport.
The open day culminates at the spray booth, where students get to try the spraying technique with food colors and hear Amoy’s professionals’ view of the car painter’s job.
“Our customers have a shortage of car painters at the moment. You are most likely to get a job when you excel at your studies. Large car repair chains have excellent employment opportunities and salaries. In addition, car painters can work in the technical side, for example, in importing,” says Jari Winqvist, CEO of Amoy.
The common goal of Amoy and Varia is to bridge the gap between studying and working life, offering future car painters the latest know-how. The high quality and up-to-dateness of the teaching also motivate young people, as they catch up with the needs of working life more quickly.
