Category Archives: Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships

Home Secretary Theresa May visits PK Automotive in Lincoln

PK_Theresa May1

When you are one of the best businesses in the motor industry, like PK Automotive Solutions (PK) in Lincoln, doing all the right things and with professional staff and smart premises to be proud of, you can expect the likes of politicians to come knocking at your door.

So it probably wasn’t much of a surprise when PK was chosen as a prime business to visit by Home Secretary Theresa May.

She was visiting Lincoln at the invitation of Conservative MP (March 2015) Karl McCartney who explained how this came about.

“Theresa May and I go back 20 years to my early years in the party and I was really keen to invite her to Lincoln to see a real success story in PK. They also look after a number of Lincolnshire Police vehicles.” Karl McCartney JP (and Lincoln MP in March 2015).

The business case for apprentices

With four apprentices taken on in as many years, PK encourages further vocational development through a combination of on-the-job learning, external education and practical hands-on experience. The business knows from its practical experience that offering training and ongoing support to new technicians and people entering the motor trade is essential to both maintain their interest and loyalty as well as to improve and fine-tune their skills.

Coming from a training background himself, Paul Killingsworth (PK’s owner) puts this experience into practice on a daily basis, often training the apprentices himself.

Ashley Maclaughlin, PK’s latest apprentice, was surprised and then delighted to meet Theresa May on his first day. He discussed his new career path and aspirations with her adding afterwards “She’s very nice and easy for me to talk to.”

Well done PK Automotive!

It’s not every day that the Home Secretary pays a visit to meet and talk to and about apprentices. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that such an influential figure has taken time out to listen to the viewpoint about industry standards on behalf of other quality independent garages.

It’s worth reminding blog readers that PK has recently been awarded the IMI Employer Recognition Award; this is further proof of their professionalism and a guarantee of the highest quality of service, knowledge and skills within the automotive sector.
PK is also the only FOXY Lady Approved ie female friendly independent garage in Lincoln recruited on the basis of these standards. As such they maintain an exclusive 5 mile area within our network of garages for local women drivers.

Licensing in the motor industry

This is a subject dear to FOXY’s heart too. Whilst research suggests that over 70% of consumers think it is a legal requirement for technicians and anybody carrying out repairs on your car to hold a licence to practice, this is not the case.

Many technicians, garages and industry leaders including PK Automotive Solutions (and FOXY Lady Drivers Club) are backing the move for licensing so that only The Professionals can work on your car.

This matters because, if you get your car repaired by somebody who is not qualified to do the job and doesn’t have the right skills or know how, this could be VERY expensive AND dangerous.

FOXY

Apprenticeships

A female first for Robert J Barnes in Cambridge

scarlett_apprenticeSixteen year old Scarlett Petty is the first apprentice to be employed by FOXY Lady Approved female friendly Robert J Barnes Vehicle Repairer in Great Wilbraham, Cambridge.

Scarlett attends Bedford College one day a week to study for her NVQ Level 2 Panel qualifications and enjoys playing hockey and football. Running out of spare time, she has had to give up her hobby racing stock cars in favour of a supporting role in the stands!

Scarlett admits to loving cars which she associates with her family who work in the automotive business.

“I have grown up with cars and they are now a part of my life. This job is something I have always wanted to do. My ultimate aim is to focus on body repairs but at the moment I am enjoying being involved in all aspects of the vehicle repair process. I want to gain as much knowledge as possible of every aspect.”

Her supervisor (who is in the photo) is Senior Technician Chris Thexton, himself a former apprentice. He finds Scarlett enthusiastic and very willing to learn and looks forward to helping her complete the three year course.

Operations Director, Matthew Cooper added that helping people fulfil their ambitions is part of Robert J Barnes’ commitment as an employer.

“We are confident that Scarlett will be a growing asset within our business to complement our existing team of eleven experienced and highly professional staff.”

About Robert J Barnes

Robert J Barnes is a highly successful and growing independent vehicle repair business based in Cambridge. As well as providing a complete accident repair service it also operates as a servicing and repair garage offering specialist tyre services including four wheel vehicle alignment, tyre fitting services and wheel balancing. This makes it a fully comprehensive vehicle repair service covering all motoring eventualities and with customer service and safety always at the top of their agenda.

As a member of the FOXY Lady Approved female friendly garage and repairer network we are delighted to see that Robert J Barnes’ choice of apprentice is a female who will clearly be encouraged to reach her career goals in good company.

Find out more about Robert J Barnes’ female friendly garage services.

Find out more about Robert J Barnes’ female friendly repairer services.

Apprenticeships

Girls Go Technical with BMW

girls go techie apprenticeRecent research I was involved in confirms that girls who like to know how things work, enjoy fixing things, doing the equivalent of mental crosswords and restoring order where there has been chaos, often make excellent technicians.

Add to this the fact that as many girls as boys are demonstrating STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) talents at GCSE level and you’ll understand why BMW is actively courting girls and encouraging them to go techie rather than head off towards stereotypically more female friendly industries like health, beauty and fashion.

So much so that young females aged between 15 and 24 are invited to follow MINI production from body panels to engine building culminating in a completed car rolling off the line on BMW UK’s 2014 Girls Go Technical programme.

Participating females are encouraged to consider a technical career within automotive manufacturing and the BMW programme will run from Monday 27 October to Friday 31 October at Birmingham, Oxford and Swindon production plants.

Simon Farrall, Head of Apprentice and Associate Training at BMW Group UK said:

“The automotive industry is still seen as a more appropriate career path for boys so this programme is designed to address this inequality of opportunity to attract more girls to consider a technical career in this field.

“On completion of the programme, the participants will have gained an insight into the manufacturing processes and experienced the day-to-day challenges encountered by engineers and technical apprentices.”

What the programme includes

Selected females will spend four days at the heart of MINI and BMW’s UK production network including time at the manufacturing site closest to their home region for in-depth work experience as well as time at MINI Plant Oxford where they will see MINIs being built.  

All participants will have the opportunity to take part in activities in the Oxford plant’s bespoke training school featuring state-of-the-art classrooms, dedicated computer study areas and a fully-equipped workshop.

“Working in the car manufacturing industry is an absolutely amazing experience”, said Rebecca Pallet, a current apprentice at MINI Plant Oxford. “I’ve always wanted to be able to build cars and with BMW Group’s support I can now pursue my dreams. I hope my example will encourage other girls to apply for our apprenticeship programme.”

Now in its second year, the Girls Go Technical programme is a part of the annual UK government-industry initiative “See Inside Manufacturing.”

Entry criteria and the application process

The entry criteria for the programme are four GCSEs at grade A-C to include Maths, English and one science subject and predicted grades will be accepted.

Applications can be made online at: http://www.facebook.com/BmwCareersUK

Apprenticeships

Exciting careers in the motor industry

city_college_4v1It’s GCSE results time again which reminded me of my son and his further education and career experiences.

He took an International Baccalaureate (IB) instead of A Levels – this was a really tough option involving higher subjects Chemistry, Biology and Maths plus German, Economics and English, hands-on community work, running a marathon for Macmillan Cancer Support, a challenging extended essay, some philosophical studies and more.

To cut a long story short he didn’t get the University grades as expected and his interest in Science had clearly waned during the 6th Form… So he turned to apprenticeships to avoid paying the new £9000 annual tuition fees.

Instead he joined an insurance company as their first motor claims apprentice, earning whilst learning a new skill. After a year they offered him a junior claims role. After another year he moved into their associated fraud department and he’s just moved up another scale in this field. He has taken the first of his CII exams and is planning two more.

He’s 21 now and hopes to go to University at a later stage. When I asked him whether he’d go back to his scientific studies he said no, he was no longer interested in that field. Just imagine how hard he’d have worked at University to graduate with an expensive degree in a discipline he no longer loved?

Better surely I say that he has gained invaluable life skills in these three years, including leaving home, self-funding flat-living, having a good social life and learning whilst earning.

Motor Industry Apprenticeships

His experience and a recent research project made me look at apprenticeships in the motor industry in some detail. I learned about the IMI’s AutoCity careers website; a fun resource to help parents and pupils alike learn about the staggering range of motor careers on offer.

In 2014 the automotive industry is campaigning for a more professional industry in garages and accident repair workshops. As things stand, qualified technicians can earn upwards of £25k.

Less surprising perhaps is that the motor industry is courting female students in engineering roles, because we’re good at STEM subjects at GCSE level. We then head off into more pastoral areas it seems, which is a loss to the motor industry I’d suggest, but we also need more young females in customer service roles and selling cars that they mightn’t always know about or consider.

In a nutshell we want parents and young students to appreciate that the automotive industry is a massive job and wealth creator in the UK. The opportunities for hard working talented individuals are huge and, in my experience, a career in the motor industry is varied and always fun.

I recently carried out some research into the motivation and perceptions of young apprentices. Those who were naturals in mechanical apprenticeships loved diagnosing problems, fixing things and solving problems. Those who excelled in customer service roles understood that the motor industry is and should always be more about people than engines.

My conclusion is that students and their parents need to consider all career options based on their GCSE results. I’d hope that they wouldn’t write off the motor industry based on its past. This would be a big mistake with a view to the future.

If I can help in any way, by all means email me direct via info@foxyladydrivers.com.

To find out about career options in the motor industry I recommend parents and students alike visit the Autocity website – autocity.org.uk.

Apprenticeships

Training tomorrow’s generation of accident repairers

JCC_apprenticesNorth Lindsey College and Just Car Clinics have joined forces to raise the talent levels of young technicians repairing cars in future; hopefully reaching young females as well as male recruits.

Just Car Clinics is the first Accident Repair Group to join the FOXY Lady Approved repairer network so we’re not at all surprised to see that they are the first to develop a pipeline of talent for their industry via their own Academy for future apprentices, from September 2014.

The Just Car Clinic Academy will be delivering an intensive two stage programme including a residential eight week course at North Lindsey College, followed by four weeks work experience at a local Just Car Clinic site. There’ll be c12 student placements, recruited across northern areas where a Just Car Clinic site is located. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to attend an assessment day in August at North Lindsey College where they will be put through a number of aptitude, skill and knowledge based tests to win a place on the programme.

We hope female students will apply as these are jobs that can be done just as well by women as men.

Students will achieve a Level One qualification at the end of the 12 week programme before entering the work experience stage of the programme where they’ll start to contribute to the business.

During the initial 12 week programme successful candidates will be full-time students with training provided thanks to a combination of government funding and North Lindsey College. All travel, any accommodation and related living costs during the residential period are paid for by Just Car Clinics.

At the end of the 12 weeks there will be a number of apprenticeships made available at Just Car Clinics so students can learn whilst they earn. Mentors will work with the students, in the business, and receive specialist training from North Lindsey College to support the students.

Just Car Clinics is a founding member of the National Accident Repair Group (NARG) and the plan is to open up this academy to benefit NARG members.

We asked Dawn Swales, HR & training manager for Just Car Clinics to tell us more.

‘The creation of the Just Car Clinic Academy is really exciting. We’re passionate about investing in our future generation and working with North Lindsey College provides us with an amazing opportunity to do this. The programme offered by the Academy is like nothing else out there. Our students will leave the programme after as little as 12 weeks having the knowledge and skills to contribute in any bodyshop, and will be ready to commence their Level Two qualifications at that stage.’

We are encouraged by this development too and hope that anyone reading this blog will pass this on to a likely female near a northern Just Car Clinics branch who might harbour ideas of a creative career in the motor industry but not be sure how to take this further. Here is her chance…