Young People
Your career could start here
Automotive repair is changing fast — and there are more ways to build a career in it than you might think.
Discover the roles, apprenticeships and opportunities available, hear from young people already doing the job and find out how to take your first step.
Employers
Could you give someone their start?
Taking on an apprentice is an investment in a young person and in the future of your business.
From understanding funding and recruitment to onboarding and mentoring, we’ll help you create an opportunity with confidence.
Supporters & Partners
Help us open more doors
You don’t have to employ an apprentice yourself to make a difference.
Support AutoRaise and help us reach more young people, support more employers and remove the barriers that can stand between potential and opportunity.
About AutoRaise
Opening doors to automotive careers
Every experienced technician, manager and industry leader started somewhere.
Before they had qualifications, confidence or years of experience, somebody gave them an opportunity.
AutoRaise exists to help create more of those opportunities
We’re the automotive repair industry charity connecting young people, employers, education and industry. We help young people discover careers they may never have considered, support employers to create apprenticeships and work to remove the practical barriers that can prevent an opportunity from becoming a job.
AutoRaise Mission
The mission of AutoRaise is to help the vehicle repair industry in the UK attract young people to technical apprenticeships, and to help employers find qualified talent.
Inspire young people
AutoRaise promotes the industry to young people in schools and colleges as a rewarding and lucrative career option
Connect young people with employers
AutoRaise matches young people with employers for apprenticeships
Support apprentices
AutoRaise supports young people through their apprenticeships, including providing best practice for recruitment, induction, and work placement
Help employers say yes
AutoRaise helps employers nurture their apprentices into qualified talent
Remove barriers to opportunity
AutoRaise aims to create a sustainable pipeline of talent to help the industry avoid a skills crisis
RAISE £500
HELP OPEN THE NEXT DOOR.
Take on the AutoRaise Pitstop Challenge this November. Get your team together, race against the clock and raise £500 to help create more opportunities for young people in automotive.
Teams of two to four participants work together to complete a timed task:
- Jack the car safety
- Removed the wheel
- Refit the wheel
- Secure the wheel correctly
The task is timed using a stopwatch, replicating the pressure and teamwork of a motorsport pit stop.
Real People. Real Careers.
Meet the young people building their future in automotive
From Mansfield, Bodi discovered vehicle repair apprenticeships online and through his family. The idea immediately appealed to him: he could learn practical skills, gain real experience and earn at the same time. Although he had some worries about taking that first step, he decided he was ready to learn and see where the opportunity could take him.
Now working towards a career as a paint technician, Bodi enjoys developing new skills he knows will be valuable in the future. With a growing interest in both paint and repair, his goal is simple: complete his apprenticeship, learn as much as possible and keep building his experience.
Bodi Chell
Real People. Real Careers.
Meet the young people building their future in automotive
Hali's route into vehicle repair began with work experience at a local bodyshop. That first opportunity led to an apprenticeship and gave her the chance to learn in an environment where she felt she could develop, grow and belong. For Hali, choosing an apprenticeship made sense because she wanted to learn through doing rather than spending her days in a classroom.
Now training as a paint technician, she particularly enjoys mixing paint and is looking forward to developing her spraying skills. Longer term, Hali has an even bigger ambition: she would like to use the skills and experience she’s building now to work for herself one day.
Hali Brecknock
Real People. Real Careers.
Meet the young people building their future in automotive
Freddie's route into automotive wasn't straightforward. After leaving school without GCSEs, he worked in plumbing and carpentry before returning to pass maths and English. Then his dad suggested a week of work experience in vehicle repair — and that one week changed everything. Freddie realised he'd found a career that suited the way he learns.
Now a paint apprentice, he enjoys developing different skills and the growing independence that comes with being able to complete jobs himself. Traditional classroom learning never suited Freddie, but practical learning does. His focus now is on building his confidence, continuing to learn and becoming better at his craft.
Freddie Atkins
Real People. Real Careers.
Meet the young people building their future in automotive
Lewis first heard about apprenticeships through his parents and knew fairly quickly that a desk-based career wasn't for him. He wanted to work with his hands and learn by actually doing the job. He admits he worried at first about feeling confused or finding the apprenticeship difficult, but those early doubts began to disappear as his skills and confidence developed.
Now training as a panel technician, Lewis enjoys learning new techniques and gaining abilities he’ll be able to use throughout his life. His ambition is to complete his apprenticeship and eventually have the skills to work on cars from start to finish.
Lewis Harrison
Real People. Real Careers.
Meet the young people building their future in automotive
University never felt like the right route for Hannah. A hands-on learner who had enjoyed getting her hands dirty from a young age, she wanted to learn practical skills while earning. Starting an apprenticeship at 29 brought some concerns, including entering a male-dominated environment and managing dyslexia, particularly around reading and writing.
The practical and supportive learning environment has helped Hannah move beyond those early worries. She particularly values being able to learn through trial and error and wants to develop experience across different areas of the business. Her advice to others is emphatic: “Do it no matter what. It doesn’t matter your age, gender, or even if you have learning difficulties.”
Hannah David
Real People. Real Careers.
Meet the young people building their future in automotive
When Leon decided he wanted a career in automotive, he and his dad began researching the options and discovered an apprenticeship programme in Nottingham. For Leon, the route made immediate sense: he could learn practically, work alongside skilled people and earn while developing his knowledge every day.
Paint quickly became the area that interested him most. Leon enjoys being part of a skilled team and has his sights set on mastering the techniques behind a great finish, particularly blending paint seamlessly across panels. For now, he’s concentrating on building his trade knowledge and confidence with a paint gun — one job and one new skill at a time.
Leon Walker
Real People. Real Careers.
Meet the young people building their future in automotive
Harrison's interest in vehicle repair developed naturally from spending time working alongside his dad. The more involved he became, the more he enjoyed it, and eventually an apprenticeship felt like the obvious next step — giving him the chance to turn that early experience into practical skills and a career.
Now training in paint, Harrison particularly enjoys preparing vehicles and beginning to learn how to paint them himself. It’s the transformation and satisfaction of seeing the finished result that appeals to him most. His goal is to build enough skill and confidence to eventually prepare, repair and paint a vehicle from start to finish independently.
Harrison Atkinson
Real People. Real Careers.
Meet the young people building their future in automotive
After leaving school, Rosie initially pursued fine art and photography in college. However, she quickly realised that traditional classroom learning wasn’t for her. “I’ve always been a hands-on person,” Rosie explains. “Sitting in a classroom all day just wasn’t for me.”
While searching for a more practical career path, Rosie stumbled upon an apprenticeship in vehicle damage repair. Despite having no prior experience in the trade, the opportunity to work as a paint technician immediately appealed to her. “I didn’t even know this job existed, but I thought it might suit me,” she recalls.
Rosie Smith
