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Garage Services
“When I look at a 16 or 17 year old….I see a future Department Manager, perhaps a future Division Manager and who knows, ……..a future Company Director.” (Arnold Clark, car dealer)
 Garages and car dealerships now are very different places from the garages of the twentieth century:- they are clean and safe, if a bit draughty in cold weather
- they offer good long term career prospects
- new technologies, to reduce carbon emissions, are likely to introduce more electric and low carbon cars and vans.
Although the current economic downturn has badly affected car sales in the UK, the introduction of the scrappage scheme for older cars has helped to improve them, particularly as Scotland has on average the oldest cars in the UK.
The Scottish automative industry currently employs some 42,574 people across 5,181 business units, accounting for 2% of the Scottish workforce and around 7% of the automotive retail sector in the UK. The retail sector workforce had gone through a period of strong growth in the last ten years, but is now seeing a slowdown in recruitment. 2008 figures show that 79% of the auto sales workforce is male and 21% are female. Despite the difficult situation at the moment jobs in the sector are expected to rise by about 1.5% by 2017, requiring a total of 18,700 jobs to be filled.
The vehicle maintenance and repair, and body repair, side of the industry has not been affected to the same extent, car numbers are still increasing and with more people deciding to hold on to their old cars they should continue to see an increase in business.
The most recent figures from 2008-2009, show that 98% of those starting Modern Apprenticeships in the industry were male. Less than 1% of the skilled trade workforce is female.
More than three quarters (78%) of those starting apprenticeships in 2008-2009 went into vehicle maintenance and repair. A further 16% went into vehicle body and paint operations and 6% into vehicle parts operations.
If you are going to do well in this work, you must be interested in the technical side of cars, motor cycles, vans, trucks and buses. You should be good with your hands, and not mind getting them dirty. (You should not be allergic to oil or paint).
You also need to get on well with your customers, so you must be:
- polite and friendly
- willing to listen to customers describe the faults in their vehicles.
A lot of vehicle technicians (or mechanics) and vehicle body repairers start at 16 or 17 through a Modern Apprenticeship. You then work and do off the job training for a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ), at Level 3. You can take a full time college course leading to a National Certificate (NC) or SVQ, but you must do an apprenticeship to get the full qualification. As vehicles become more complicated, many technicians take further, specialised courses afterwards.
You might then move into a supervisory job. Almost all garage managers have come up through the practical jobs listed here. Taking a Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Automotive Engineering or Management might help.
The jobs in this area are divided into 3 sectors:
- Vehicle body repair
- Vehicle maintenance and repair
- Related services.
Sources
Scottish Automotive Modern Apprenticeships Benchmark Report: Key Findings July 2009 - The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI)
Workforce Profile (June 2009) - IMI, Automotive Retail Sector
Scottish Motor Traders Association (SMTA) News 2009
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