So, what's it all about?
Motor vehicles have changed life beyond all recognition. Twenty miles used to be a day’s journey – now it’s a normal commute. Vehicle transport plays an essential role in most people’s lives, which explains how the industry has grown to such great size and importance. This section in the Guide covers two distinct sectors: the automotive industry (or ‘retail motor industry’) and passenger transport.
The retail motor industry deals with all aspects of cars, vans, and motorcycles. It’s a broad area employing people who sell vehicles, fix and service them, fit new parts, and even rescue motorists. There’s a wide range of jobs on offer that span from technical to customer service roles. Depending on your interests and employer, you could find yourself selling BMWs for a large dealership, fixing cars after an accident, changing tyres, or rescuing stranded motorists from the hard shoulder of the M25. All of these roles require a deep understanding – to work in sales, you need to know your product inside and out, and to fix cars, you need the practical skills to diagnose and repair faults.
The passenger transport sector is equally large, employing hundreds of thousands of people to run, drive, and support transport and travel, from aviation to rail and bus to coach. By choosing one of these Apprenticeships, you could help keep the trains running safely and on time, or help air passengers receive their luggage in one piece when they arrive at their destination. Although there are some smaller transport companies, large national and international companies (e.g. Network Rail) employ most people in this industry.
Many jobs in the sector involve some manual and mechanical skills. However, 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.
Lots of these roles require shift work and some antisocial hours – after all, cars break down all the time and someone has to load the baggage onto those 6am flights. However, the prospects are good and there are opportunities for national and international travel, too.
What qualities do I need?
- have mechanical and technical skills
- be good at working with your hands and using tools
- understand engineering principles<
- be good at diagnosing and solving problems
- have good customer service skills
- have IT skils
- work well with others and on your own
- be aware of health and safety
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
Rail transport engineering
Rail transport operations
Contact GoSkills www.goskills.org
Passenger carrying vehicle driving: bus and coach
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
Vehicle fitting
Vehicle maintenance and repair
Vehicle part operations
Vehicle sales
Contact Automotive Skills www.automotiveskills.org/careers
Click here for a list of employers offering Apprenticeships in this sector.
Sector Skills Councils
These are the people who look after the Apprenticeships in this section – consider them the experts. Visit their websites for more information about working in this field.
GoSkills
www.goskills.org
The Institute of the Motor Industry
www.motor.org.uk
Learning providers
City & Guilds
www.city-and-guilds.com
reMIT
www.remit.co.uk
Provides structured Apprenticeships across the UK, working with local colleges.
Further reading
Department for Transport
www.dft.gov.uk
Just Rail
www.justrail.net