CAREERS
HELPING COMMUNITY PART OF BUSINESS LIFE
Col Wilkie Body Works proud to help with Braking the Cycle program
COMMUNITY MINDED: Proud to help in the Toowoomba community are Col Wilkie Body Works owner Steve Wilkie (left) and estimator Bert Webster. PHOTO: NEV MADSEN
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Col Wilkie Body Works is a true family operation...
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COMMUNITY is everything when you’ve been in business for 83 years in the same city. So when the team at Col Wilkie Body Works heard about the Braking the Cycle program, they knew they wanted to help. Steve Wilkie bought his smash repairs business from dad Col Wilkie in 2008, continuing a long family tradition started by his grandfather, Ben, in 1935. Col Wilkie Body Works is a true family operation, with Steve’s sister Kerri Crisp and his wife Hannah, also working there among the 16-strong team that prided itself on quality, fast, guaranteed work. They pride themselves on more than just their work ethic though. Thanks to owner Mr Wilkie and the team, who provided the Toowoomba PCYC with the first car for the program, Braking the Cycle has helped 67 young people get a provisional driver’s licence and 26 of them went straight into gainful employment. Braking the Cycle is all about helping young people to break the barriers to attaining a driver’s licence, which can in turn prevent many from landing good jobs and living life to the fullest. It partners mentors from the community with young drivers so they can complete the required 100 hours of supervised driving in the learner’s log book.
Col Wilkie Body Works ■ 3/5 Instow Street, Toowoomba ■ Phone 4638 0011 ■ Providing spray painting, body works, car detailing, car hire, repairs, towing, pick up and delivery for Toowoomba and southwest Queensland The idea is that without a licence, many young people can become stuck in a cycle of disadvantage, which can in turn lead to antisocial behaviour and an inability to achieve work goals. In the first 12 months, the Braking the Cycle program’s 45 dedicated mentors spent about 34,000 volunteer hours across 22,000 sessions with 107 course participants, driving more than 70,000km around town. He estimated that the first 40 successful drivers went on to contribute about $250,000 in value to the Toowoomba community, a result the Col WIlkie Body Works team is rightfully proud of being involved with. The program would be unable to run without community volunteers and corporate sponsors like Col Wilkie Body Works. To find out more about Braking the Cycle, phone the PCYC on 4592 4500.