Young people who want to work with cars have a myriad of options. They don’t need to get their hands dirty, either – finance, service and sales have apprenticeship roles too
Up and under: apprenticeships offer trainees hands-on experience.
Photograph: Dean Mitchell/Getty
For petrolheads, opportunities to work with cars, in cars and around cars are extensive. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), more than 823,000 people are employed across the automotive industry, including 168,000 directly in manufacturing, while more than 30 manufacturers build in excess of 70 models of vehicle in the UK, dreamed up and created by some of the world’s most skilled engineers.
But for most car fanatics, behind the wheel is where they want to be. One option for adrenaline junkies is to become a stunt driver. To do this most candidates go to a stunt driving school then serve as an apprentice in a team, learning from the best and working their way up until they become an expert themselves.
If it’s size rather than speed you’re after, how about becoming a lorry driver? According to The Knights of Old Group, which offers lorry driver apprenticeships, a national shortfall of 45,000 drivers means you’re unlikely to be out of work. Training involves everything from driving techniques to vehicle preparation as well as the environmental impact of the industry and will take you up to the role of a Cat C (Rigid) driver.
If that sounds a bit lonely, bus driving could be the way forward. According to Youth Employment UK, you can get into this by completing a bus driving apprenticeship, usually known as a passenger carrying vehicle driving apprenticeship. According to the government website there are apprenticeships available in several sectors of the transport and logistics sector, including passenger transport drivers.
For car connoisseurs who don’t fancy getting behind the wheel, most major manufacturers offer engineering apprenticeships, including the likes of Rolls Royce, Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin Lagonda. For those after a hands-on role BMW, which has its own academy in Berkshire, offers motor vehicle technician apprenticeships as well as bodyshop and motorcycle apprenticeships. Equally Ford, which also has its own Henry Ford Academy, offers engineering apprenticeships while Jaguar Land Rover offers advanced apprentice programmes in both manufacturing and engineering. The possibilities are endless, with an apprenticeship proving a springboard for many into a long-running career in the automotive industry.
But for those who don’t want to get their hands dirty, major car companies are also offering apprenticeships relating to other areas of the industry – Ford’s apprenticeships include higher apprenticeships in finance and IT, while BMW’s include customer service and sales. Ford offers dealer apprenticeship opportunities across everything from car technicians to sales executives, with a range of programmes from 12 months up to three years combining hands-on training with college study.
Such is the popularity of apprenticeships that in 2016 the Automotive Apprenticeship Matching Service was launched by major manufacturers, allowing companies to connect rejected applicants with schemes run by other manufacturers and in turn close a skills gap in the sector.
Whatever direction you want to take a car-related career in, it’s just a case of deciding which route to take.
‘You learn more in three months at the garage than you would in a year at college’
Shay Chuplis, 20, completed an apprenticeship at a garage in London. He now works as a mechanic for the same employer who trained him. As told to Abby Young Powell
I have always been interested in cars and wanted to learn first-hand how they work. The way I see it, being a mechanic is like being the doctor of a car. An engine has so many different parts and you have got to know everything about them.
I thought I knew about cars before I started, but when I got here I realised I still had a lot to learn. That was a bit of a shock.
I worked four days a week and studied at college one day. On an average day during my apprenticeship, I would do quite a lot of services, like changing the oil and filter in a car. You get a lot of old cars – dying cars, as I call them. Sometimes we also have an old classic Ferrari, Jaguar or Porsche come in. I also answered the phones and spoke to customers. I have always been a people person and you get to know the regular customers and have good conversations with them. You build up relationships and see a few characters.
It was good to have a mentor. They were helpful and taught me how to do things. There were a few other apprentices here at the same time as me, too. Most apprentices come through the same college, so we already knew each other and went to the garage together. It’s good because you get to make friends and it is nice to work with people you can have a laugh with. I wish I had known how hard it can be at times too, though. In the winter it is cold and you can hurt your hands, but I guess that’s part of the job.
I’ve learned so much. In the beginning, I would sometimes run away from jobs because I wasn’t confident. Now I am fine on any car. I can diagnose the problem and do jobs with my eyes closed. You learn more in three months in a garage than you can in a year in college. I feel proud that I know my trade. At the moment I am taking a break from studying to work at the garage, but I plan to do another level of training here.
In numbers
£64bn
UK manufacturing industry turnover in 2014
78%
UK cars built which were exported
78,000
People employed in the UK automotive supply chain
Source: Automotive Apprenticeships Matching Service