Work experience: The route to success

Our industry desperately needs fresh talent, but unless we can give young people a taste of what a career in automotive might look like, the next generation of gifted motor pros may simply head elsewhere. Offering work experience could help to draw in more youngsters, but businesses need a plan to make it work. Here’s where to start...

Work experience might be a tick-box exercise for some students as they approach the end of their school careers, and some businesses may see it as another thing to juggle in an already high-pressure environment. But for the automotive sector, finding students as young as 15 who are considering just such a career is a vital part of the recruitment process.

Some dealerships and garages have come under fire for making it too hard for students to get placements with them, but the businesses which are willing to put in the time say that it’s really a demand and resources challenge, rather than a question of reluctance.

So, what should you be doing to make the most of what work experience can offer, both for businesses and individuals? Here’s the advice from the industry…

“Specifically skilled jobs within the trade are increasingly difficult at the moment. It partly seems to be because of the skills shortage, which is why we’re so invested in the apprenticeship scheme so we can grow our own,” explains James Webb, Recruitment and Apprenticeship Adviser at Crewe-based Swansway Motor Group.

For the business, which operates new and used car sales for a range of brands alongside its own workshops, work experience has been a successful tool for growing the intake of apprentices at a challenging time for recruitment. “It’s definitely something which has benefited us,” Webb says. “For starters, it’s something we think is important for us to do because it benefits the students, and it’s a positive thing to do as a good employer in the area.

“We also invest heavily in the apprenticeship scheme, so it’s a great way of opening that door early on. We have a lot of apprentice technicians across the group, some of whom came in for work experience before taking on an apprenticeship. It’s a great way to get people in and show them what they can do within the group.”

However, he admitted that as much as they benefit from providing work experience placements, it’s a real challenge to provide them at times. “What we can offer varies and it really depends on what we can fit in. We do offer work experience in dealerships, in head office, and in different departments and environments within the dealership as well. The issue is that it can really vary depending on whether the dealership has staff in place to support that person at the time. That does mean it’s a bit ad hoc, rather than a set standard.

“We tend to get people asking for the standard Year 10 work placements, but that’s not all we do – it’s just what we tend to get asked for. Because of the way it falls with schools, we get a lot of requests at one time of the year. Everyone seems to want it at the same time, which is why it’s hard to resource it well. As much as we want to say yes to everyone, we just can’t. Then, throughout the year we get the odd one outside of that, and these tend to be more focused on head office for marketing, HR and that type of thing.”

He adds: “The other element is the health and safety and risk assessments that go with working in the workshop. There are cars in and out of there all day, it’s a really busy workshop, and it can be quite challenging to have someone in there who isn’t used to that. Then it comes down to resources as well and assigning someone to them for the week or however long it might be. Those are the two challenges we find.”

It can be a difficult process to manage, but it can deliver great talent.

Swansway isn’t alone. Ian Williams (above), Head of Human Resources at LSH Auto, one of the UK’s largest Mercedes-Benz groups, has also seen students choose to join the business after a successful work experience placement, but the high demand makes it difficult to provide a placement for everyone.

“We have several colleagues across the business, particularly within parts and service, that started their journey with LSH Auto as work experience students. One of our apprentice technicians enjoyed his two weeks of work experience in our workshop so much that upon completion, he decided to apply directly to the Mercedes-Benz Academy, and started his automotive career here shortly after,” he says.

“Work experience can often be difficult to manage during the months of May, June and July, when requests are high and are often made at short notice. If the student wishes to complete their work experience within our service department, particularly the workshop, it can be challenging to provide the risk assessments and PPE in time. When requested with plenty of advance notice, the experience can be very rewarding.”

“The automotive industry is a competitive market and there is currently a shortfall of skilled workers available. With that in mind, it is crucial for businesses to encourage more young people into the industry,” says Williams. “We’re particularly keen to attract more women into the industry, so we actively work with local schools and colleges to introduce their students to female role models from LSH Auto, ranging from systems technicians to board members. We hope that this will open up automotive career paths to young people who may not have considered it an option before.

Providing engaging and rewarding work experience opportunities is a great way to attract young people at a stage where they are not quite sure what career they want to pursue, building interest and providing them with ways to develop the skills and experience which will be critical to our industry’s future.

“It’s an exciting time to join the motor industry, as the future of mobility evolves using new technology and electrification to improve sustainability. From a retail perspective, we are modernising to meet customers’ expectations by offering a complete online experience. Our young apprentices will help to lead this change. It’s only by investing in our people that will we ensure this change becomes reality.”

Work experience can be the springboard to success.

Work experience might be a great way to get people into the industry, but it’s also an important part of finding them the right role, explains Akash Cheeda (above), owner of Classic Car Recruitment.

“When it comes to the classic car restoration side of the industry, for example, people might go in with certain ideas about what it will be like, but once they try it out they might realise that actually it’s not for them. That helps from a retention perspective because it gives them a proper taste of the role.

“I’ve also had clients who have had students come in who initially wanted to train on engine building, but then realised they actually quite like the panel making side or the bodywork side, and by coming in for work experience it has steered their decision in another direction. More than anything, it gives them an insight into what the industry is actually like.”

Cheeda is seeing an increased number of not just students looking for work experience make a career change later in life. He adds that in these delicate situations it can be tricky to have untrained people around expensive or specialist machinery.

He says: “Particularly from a restoration perspective, some businesses find it challenging because there is sometimes a level of privacy and sensitivity with these customer cars. When it’s something so specialist, if someone comes in and does something as simple as snapping a picture and putting it on social media, that can cause problems.”

Be prepared and you'll reap the benefits.

Home-grown apprentices, better retention and better prepared employees are all great benefits for automotive employers, but that doesn’t make it any easier to offer placements, says James Webb.

“It still comes down to resources, and I think the only way to do that is to put some spend behind it really. I don’t think it’s the sort of thing that will become easier by putting a policy in place or a work experience plan, because it really can change day-to-day in the dealership depending on what jobs come in – and even seasonal changes. The focus of the business can really change depending on when the young people come in.”

Everyone we spoke to highlighted how much demand there is for work placements and how keen they are to get as many potential future employees in to experience what the job is really like – but the influx of applications for the same time of year makes it almost impossible to provide for all applicants.

“I think what it comes down to is putting resources behind it, having someone to oversee work placements, to see it first hand and help out,” Webb adds.

And as Williams from LSH Auto explains, the simplest way to get around difficulties in organising work experience is “plenty of advance notice”. After all, automotive groups are willing to put their time into it as they seek out the next generation of talented employees.