Apprenticeship Central: Candidate Portal
About Vehicle Service and Repair
The UK vehicle servicing and repair industry is responsible for maintaining, servicing and repairing vehicles to ensure that they are road worthy and safe to drive. The Automotive Retail Industry provides employment for over half a million employees who work for approximately 70,000 employers. It is a major contributor to the UK economy.
The industry’s skills crisis
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The average age of a skilled technician is over 45 and employers are very keen to address that by bringing in young people and training them.
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As the industry is evolving and new technologies are being used, we need to train young technicians to be highly skilled in servicing and repairing these new technologies in the industry.
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It does not matter your gender, ethnicity or background; you will be welcome in our inclusive industry because you are the future!
What does a career in the industry look like?
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Consistent Work - There will always be cars on the road, they will always require servicing and repairing. This makes a career in the industry an extremely attractive place to build your career. And because every repair is different, it will always require human intervention to correct, no robots in our industry!
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Valuable Skills - Being able to service and repair vehicles is a highly technical skill and qualified technicians are in extreme demand and can receive extremely rewarding earnings as their experience and knowledge starts to build.
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Great Opportunities – These skills mean a diverse range of career opportunities lie ahead. Most vehicle vehicle businesses are owned by individuals who started their career as a technician so anyone coming into the industry should always see an opportunity to manage or run an automotive business in the future.
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Exciting Career Paths – There is a whole eco-system of this £billion industry that requires people who understand how to service and repair a vehicle safely and professionally.
Technical jobs and apprenticeships in the industry
MOTOR VEHICLE SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN (LIGHT VEHICLE)
A motor vehicle service and maintenance technician services and repairs light vehicles such as cars and vans and works either in dealerships which focus on a particular manufacturer, or in an independent garage which deals with many different makes of vehicles. The technician will work on all the systems found within the vehicle. The day-to-day work ranges from replacing simple parts through to solving complex faults with the use of diagnostic methods and equipment. The tasks faced are constantly changing, driven by the introduction of ever more complex technologies and diagnostic techniques. In a large dealership the Technician will typically report to the Workshop Controller, who in turn reports to the Aftersales Manager and liaises with the Service Reception. In smaller garages the Technician will report directly to the owner or Garage Manager. The technician must be able to work independently but also operate as an effective team member and have good customer handling skills. They will understand how their workshop and the dealership/garage functions from a commercial perspective and identify ways in which they can work more efficiently. Technicians working in large dealerships work with other departments, for example carrying out work for the Sales Department and ordering parts from the Parts Department, whereas apprentices in smaller independent garages may be called upon to carry out some of the function of the other departments themselves, for example managing their own delivery of parts.
AUTOCARE TECHNICIAN
An Autocare Technician carries out a range of services and repairs to cars, car derived vans and light goods vehicles, working in an Auto-care or “Fast-Fit” Centre, which may be part of a national chain or operated by a regional/local independent group/owner. An Auto-care Technician requires a unique combination of technical, retail and customer service skills. They will use a range of tools, measuring and diagnostic equipment to identify & repair simple system faults. The Auto-care Technician has to demonstrate expertise not only in the technical elements of their role and have a good grasp of the practical and theoretical aspects of the vehicle systems they service, but also needs to have excellent telephone, customer handling (including how to handle difficult customers and deal with customer disappointment) and effective sales skills, as well as strong problem solving and self-organisation skills. They must be able to work as part of a team but also operate independently, understand how their centre operates from a commercial perspective and how their actions contribute to business results, whilst maintaining a high standard of workmanship.