Automotive Apprenticeships are for everyone. In recent years, more and more young women have opted to become vehicle technicians, receiving the kind of support and encouragement from colleagues, customers and mentors that proves it is a job that’s as well suited to women as it is to men.
Technical careers
For Skillnet and our female Apprentices, gender is not an issue. But skills, training and experience are.
For example, Claire Weller, who works at DAF and won a silver medal at the 2020 UK WorldSkills final, said: “All the workshop staff are supportive of each other, and it makes no difference to them that I’m female. I occasionally struggle with lifting, but everyone in the workshop is keen to help out. Within the workplace, I’m treated no differently at all.”
We recently talked in detail to some of our amazing women Apprentices about their experiences of working in an industry where 20% of the workforce are women: though that is increasing.
After winning the Autocar magazine’s ‘Great British Woman Apprentice of the year’ in 2019, Alice Swallow took a Higher Apprenticeship in Sustainable Automotive Engineering and now works as an innovation engineer. She said: “It sounds really cool … and it is really cool! It’s a great opportunity and you can always work on something interesting and something different … There are women in senior management who mentor the female Apprentices or graduates, so you’ve always got somebody to talk to.”
Laura Drawwater is in the third year of her Light Vehicle Technician Apprenticeship with Ford. Laura is a groundbreaker: initially, of all the workshop staff she was the only woman. “It was a bit scary at first, but I soon settled in. Once you get to know people, they’re really nice people … everyone in this depot is there for you and we’re all there for each other.”
Having always wanted to work with cars, Bryonie Covacic-Field chose an apprenticeship over university: “I didn’t want to fully leave education when I left school, but I didn’t want to be in full-time education. I go to college for 2 weeks every 6 weeks. I wanted to be able to do hands-on stuff and make a job out of it. I was concerned when I started because I knew I was going into somewhere where the majority were men, and I didn’t know how I’d fit in. But I realised not to worry, and they look after you more than you think.”
All these women intend to go on to bigger and better things: whether specialising in F1 and classic cars, becoming trainers themselves or running their own companies.
Office-based automotive careers
A career in the automotive industry isn’t confined to the workshop. Dealerships have many front-of-house staff and there are plenty of apprenticeship opportunities for men and women in Customer Service and Business Administration.
For example, Erin Robinson is a Customer Service Practitioner Apprentice. She has always been a people person, so customer service was a good career path for her, which is why she began an apprenticeship as a way of complementing her skills.
She said: “I thought it would just be a basic course, but there’s much more to it than I imagined. I like that I’m learning on-the-job and gaining that on-the-job experience.”
Management careers
Apprenticeships are not just for school leavers either. They are open to anyone at any age.
Abi Curson completed Skillnet’s Team Leadership and Management apprenticeships which led her to become HR Manager at her dealership. She manages her own team, and even though she works in a male-dominated industry, says she’s never had a problem with sexism.
Even further up the management ladder, Liz Barr is now the General Manager of her Ford dealership, having worked there for more than 15 years.“What I have found is that some customers are surprised that a woman is the General Manager … and if there are complaints, and I get involved, I put their (the customers) needs first to resolve their issue.”
If you would like to apply for a Skillnet Apprenticeship, click here to create an account and upload your CV.