• Diagnostic skills
• How to think on your feet
• Problem solving
• Assessing and servicing vehicles

I grew up with my Dad working on cars and stuff. I originally had other career aspirations and worked for different companies, but needed a qualification. It took applying two times and explaining my story and interest to eventually land a job here. I just wanted more job security… it’s a good qualification to have [behind your name] as it can land you a job just about anywhere.

I never really applied myself to school and could’ve definitely done a lot better. I did technical drawings which really interested me along with woodwork and metalwork – quite practical subjects over theory-based subjects. I think it’s quite a traditional approach to believe that you can only get a good career through academic subjects at school. These practical subjects had an influence on what I do here due to the hands-on skills.

The work my Dad used to do and how we got brought up influenced me more… being outside and building stuff. My Dad worked on his own cars so we were always around that. We grew up on bicycles and motorbikes. My Dad qualified as a mechanic when he was quite young and then he went into a different industry, still mechanical, but went into elevators and escalators. I’ve always been around it so it makes it easier to do.

I’m still busy with my Level 4 and hoping to be done at the end of this year if possible. It’s a mix of hands-on work and theory. You work at your own pace, depending on how long it takes you to do it. I got the theory done and out of the way because I don’t enjoy it, so it’s just the practical stuff I have left to do now.

I think you just have to be openminded really. There’s a lot to learn and I think anyone can be taught this stuff, you’ve just got to be willing to get stuck in. Even the older guys who have been here for years will say that they’re always learning stuff everyday. So if you just come into it with the right mindset and attitude.

I think there’s a lot of stigma around young people just not being interested and not wanting to work hard. I think if you come in with the right mindset, then people will be more willing to teach you stuff. It makes a big difference when they can see that you’re actually paying attention and want to work. Being eager to get into things is also good, as it affects how you feel about the day.

It’s different but once you’re in it, the environment becomes familiar. I think cars are often deemed as scary or are  misunderstood by people. Even just opening the bonnet you don’t know what you’re looking at. But over time you begin to pick up on things easily. It’s easy enough stuff to learn.

A lot of it has been learning how to do things the correct way. When you’re doing it at home as a hobby, you don’t always have the right tools and might take shortcuts. That’s been the biggest thing I’ve learnt. Also learning the reasons why we do the things we do – certain protocals and practices. Before now if I had a job to do I would’ve just done it without much thought. Now I have a lot more purpose and confidence in what I do – I’m not second guessing myself all the time. Fixing cars definitely makes me feel capable and assured that I can do hard things.

I wish I knew back then that although school gives you a good foundation of the basics, many of the things that were  important to me then didn’t matter once I left. There are many different pathways and school is just one of them. Being able to have more free reign when you’re older is a bonus. You can learn many life-skills as you get older.

We get told quite a lot to just make sure you do what you love and I’ve always found that advice to not always be very practical. There are a range of jobs in our society, and we need a range of people to fulfill each role. When looking into careers it’s a balance of what’s practical for you AND what you love. If you’ve got to have a job to support the life you want to live, get stuck in and do it.

Don’t pin all your hopes on a high-flying career. It’s okay to be content with simply having a job as the means to support the life you want to live. I think the world needs hard workers and blue-collared people. Having a work-life balance is important when exploring a career. You’ve got be able to work hard and just have fun after.

Being qualified was the big thing for me. I just really wanted something in my name that I could fall back on if I ever needed to. I kind of want to be able to do whatever I want to do. For example, if I wanted to move to another country and live a life that would support that dream. I just want to be happy and do what I need to do to achieve that. I got tired of saying “one day I’m gonna do this”. One day I just woke up and decided I was going to start something. Moving forward is important, it’s easy to just stay still and get stuck and lose momentum.