Can you tell us a bit more about your career journey?
“I started go-karting when I was 11, so I’ve always been around cars and motorsports. Before I left school, I realised that I enjoy working with tools and being in the motor industry and just wanted to make a career out of it. I applied for the Mercedes-Benz Technical Apprenticeship programme, which I didn’t get the first time I went for it. I was instead asked if I wanted to work in valeting for eight months before coming onto the apprenticeship – I earned an NVQ Level 2 in Customer Service while valeting before coming straight into the workshop.
“I completed the three-year programme in the same retailer I’m in now, working towards an End Point Assessment in my final year. My first year looked at basic service work, the tools and health and safety, the second year progressed into solo repair work, before looking in-depth at diagnostics in my final year and sitting a theory exam, showing examiners what I could do on a car.
“I’m currently working towards my Service Technician qualification which involves me occasionally going down to Mercedes-Benz in Milton Keynes for training, learning new skills and building on my existing ones as I progress. The business also does courses on electrification and it’s nice to know we’ve got that covered as the technology develops – with the work potentially being more diagnostic-focused, I think it will suit my skills.”
Has anything surprised you about your role?
“The biggest surprise for me has been how welcome I feel as the sole woman in the workshop. Everyone’s lovely and it’s like I have ten dads at work. I had nerves when I first came, I was 16 so I didn’t know what to expect but I just clicked really well with everyone. Karting gave me an advantage because motorsport is such a male-dominated world so I got used to it quickly. I think it was a learning curve for the guys too, learning to work with a young woman, but they’ve adapted well, and we’ve got a great bond.”
