So, what's it all about?
Let's go back a century or so. If you wanted to get to work or go to the shops, you'd walk. If you wanted to deliver goods to the next town, you'd use a horse and cart. If you wanted a cheap flight to Mallorca... well, you'd have to wait for a few decades.
Motor vehicles have changed life beyond all recognition. Twenty miles used to be a day's journey - now it's a normal commute. Going to Hong Kong was an epic sea voyage lasting weeks, not a 12-hour flight made by thousands of business people every day.
Not surprising, then, that a whole industry has grown up around vehicle transport. Actually, we're talking about two distinct sectors here: the automotive industry (or 'retail motor industry'), which is all about cars, and passenger transport - planes, trains, boats, buses and anything else that carries people across sky, sea or surface (or under the surface - let's not forget the Channel Tunnel and the Tube).
As you can imagine, there's a wide range of roles on offer (see the individual Apprenticeships for more explanations and examples).
In the automotive industry, you could be selling BMWs for a large dealership, fixing cars after an accident, changing tyres or rescuing stranded families from the hard shoulder of the M25. In passenger transport, you could be working as a tour guide on a coach trip to Paris, assisting in air traffic control or driving trains (hands up anyone who wanted to be an engine driver when they were growing up...).
Many jobs in this sector involve some manual and mechanical skills. If you open a car's bonnet and see valves, pistons, sparkplugs and crankshafts, you could be the sort of person the automotive industry is looking for; if you just see a scary jumble of metal and wire (or can't figure out how to open the bonnet in the first place), you probably aren't.
But customer service and communication are important, too. You'll be coming face-to-face with the public in most jobs, so your people skills make a difference. Somebody who's just broken down on the motorway needs a friendly hand and sympathy, not a lecture on how they should have kept the water in the radiator topped up. And an aeroplane cabin crew need to keep smiling, even in an emergency. Particularly in an emergency.
What qualities do I need?
- have mechanical and technical skills
- be good at working with your hands and using tools
- work well with other people
- have good communication skills (including foreign language skills in some jobs)
- understand engineering principles
- be aware of safety issues
- have good customer service skills
- have IT skills
- have good organisational skills
- pay close attention to detail
- be good at diagnosing and solving problems
Hours: Many jobs involve shift work and antisocial hours. Somebody has to load the baggage onto those 6am flights, and breakdown recovery workers need to respond to emergencies at all hours.
Environment: This varies according to the job: you could be at a desk, underneath a bus or in the cab of a Tube train. Most jobs involve some interaction with the public.
Location: You could be working from one location, or on the move. There are opportunities for national and international travel, too.
These are the Apprenticeships currently available in this sector. For more information and for details of the Apprenticeship framework, contact the Sector Skills Council listed after each.
Aviation
Contact GoSkills www.goskills.org
Cabin crew
Contact GoSkills www.goskills.org
Passenger carrying vehicle driving: bus and coach
Contact GoSkills www.goskills.org
Rail transport engineering
Contact GoSkills www.goskills.org
Rail transport operations
Contact GoSkills www.goskills.org
Retail motor: roadside assistance and recovery
Contact Automotive Skills www.automotiveskills.org/careers
or call 0800 093 1777.Transport engineering and maintenance
Contact GoSkills www.goskills.org
Vehicle body and paint operations
Contact Automotive Skills www.automotiveskills.org.uk/careers
or call 0800 093 1777.Vehicle fitting
Contact Automotive Skills www.automotiveskills.org.uk/careers
or call 0800 093 1777.Vehicle maintenance and repair
Contact Automotive Skills www.automotiveskills.org.uk/careers
or call 0800 093 1777.Vehicle part operations
Contact Automotive Skills www.automotiveskills.org.uk/careers
or call 0800 093 1777.Vehicle sales
Contact Automotive Skills www.automotiveskills.org.uk/careers
or call 0800 093 1777.Click here for a list of employers offering Apprenticeships in this sector.
Department for Transport
Civil Aviation Authority
Royal Aeronautical Society
Cabin Crew
Department for Transport
First Group
www.firstgroup.com/careers.php
Just Rail
Retail motor: roadside assistance and recovery; Vehicle body and paint operations; Vehicle fitting; Vehicle maintenance and repair; Vehicle part operations; Vehicle sales
AA
Carter and Carter
City & Guilds
Goodyear
Institution of the Motor Industry