Looking for a New Apprentice

QUALITIES TO LOOK FOR IN A NEW APPRENTICE

Our apprentices are the future of our industry. The work we put into training them today is the foundation for our success tomorrow. Not just for our own businesses, but for our industry as a whole.

We know from the State of the Nation Report 2020 that finding good staff is the third biggest challenge facing Members overall. If we want reliable team members, solid workshop managers, good business partners and dynamic industry leaders into the future, then it’s up to us to provide the opportunities and encourage the best possible people into our industry.

The desire to do exactly that is already there: 74% of Members who’ve had or have apprentices say they took them on to train the next generation and almost half say they want to pass on their skills. Yet finding the right apprentice can be a struggle, with 14% of Members saying it was one of the top five challenges facing their business.

So, when we’re looking for apprentices, how do we identify the candidates most likely to do well, to stick around, and to become a long-term asset for our businesses and the industry as a whole?

We asked an industry veteran for his advice on the qualities to look for in a potential apprentice. He’s employed about 20 apprentices over his decades in the business and said they’re always “a bit of a mixed bag”.

“We’ve had some that have stayed on with us and gone on to manage workshops for us — we have one who’s currently doing that now,” he said. “And others, look, obviously when they’ve completed their trade, you tend to part ways.”

With many lessons under his belt, here are the qualities our Member recommends seeking out in an apprentice.

DO THEY HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE?

“Obviously, attitude is important,” he said. “That’s the same if you employ anyone. “We’re really after somebody who has a can-do attitude and is proactive: someone who just wants to work, wants to be part of it, who’s enthusiastic about what they want to do.”

HAVE THEY DONE A PRE-VOCATIONAL COURSE?

Our Member said he’s also always looking for evidence that a candidate truly has an interest in mechanics.

“Do they have any certificates for mechanical courses that show that they’re working towards this as a career?” he said. “Can they demonstrate that they’ve got an interest in cars and in the industry.”

HAVE THEY DONE WORK ON THEIR OWN VEHICLE?

“I’m also looking to see if they’ve worked on their own cars, if they’ve tinkered with cars, and if they’ve bought and sold cars,” he said.

“That way you can see they’ve really got an interest in mechanics and that they’ve got their hands dirty; that they’ve physically played with things.”

DO THEY HAVE A NATURAL AFFINITY WITH MECHANICS?

Lastly, our Member recommends finding apprentices who have grown up around engines as a part of daily life. He said farm kids, for example, tend to make really good apprentices.

“They’re used to tinkering with things on a farm and playing with mechanical things,” he said.

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR INTERVIEWING A POTENTIAL APPRENTICE

We asked for any advice our Member had for other Members interviewing potential apprentices. He recommended looking for the basics (not just the above qualities but also questions like whether the candidate has a driver’s licence) before interviewing. He said it’s important to get the candidate quite comfortable during the interview process so you can ask enough questions to work out how they think and “how they tick”.

“We talk a little bit about cars,” he said, “We ask questions like what’s your favourite car, what do you drive — just those kind of things.

“If you see them start to light up and start to talk about a few things to do with cars, you can sense whether they’ve got a passion for cars. It’s the attitude and a bit of a passion for the industry that you’re looking for.”

ONE LAST THOUGHT ON FINDING THE RIGHT APPRENTICE

Our Member had one last recommendation for other Members struggling to find an apprentice: think outside the box and look to mature age applicants.

Increasing your employee diversity is an important consideration which can have positive effects for your business. He mentions supporting and encouraging mature age apprentices and the benefit they can have to the industry.

“We have employed some adult apprentices and they are really engaged and hit the ground running. So, I wouldn’t discount adult apprentices.”

KEEPING YOUR STAR APPRENTICES ONCE YOU FIND THEM

Once you find the right apprentice it’s always good to keep encouraging them. With positive reinforcement you will continue to stoke their passion for the industry, helping prevent them from burning out.

Capricorn Rising Stars provides one such opportunity for our Members to recognise and reward their repairers of the future. By showing apprentices that they are on the right track we can keep them committed to their workshops and retain them in the industry long term.

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