What I do

I am doing a three-year apprenticeship at Cleevely Motors, working on and learning about internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEs) and electric vehicles (EVs). In an ICE car, you have thousands of moving parts, but an EV has fewer parts and is often more reliable.

Hear more about Monty's role by watching the video below...

How I became a technician

At school, I was interested in cars, and as I knew the owner of Cleevely Motors through a friend, I asked if I could do some trial days to gain experience. I'd already decided I wanted to start an apprenticeship in the industry, so I was pleased when I was offered one at the garage.

I studied GCSE Maths, English, Computer Science, Engineering and Science at school, and a lot of what I learnt in these subjects has been relevant to my job, but science and engineering have been the most useful.

A typical day in my
working life

When I arrive at work, I brew tea for the team and get my tasks for the day from the office. If I am completing an EV service, I check the lights, wipers, and washers, put the car on a ramp and check tyre pressures. EVs are still relatively like combustion cars, apart from the fact they don’t have an engine, so they need oil for the drive unit and grease for the drive shafts.

While the car is on a ramp, we might complete an underbody check. This involves ensuring that the high-voltage cable from the battery up to the motor is tight. I’ll service more vehicles in the afternoon before sweeping the bays and finishing for the day.

A surprising fact about my job

My job requires a lot of problem-solving – for example, if I’m working on a vehicle and the head of a bolt snaps, I need to find a solution. We also get a lot of EVs with faults that a computer can’t diagnose, so we need to solve them ourselves.

It’s exciting that we are at the cutting edge of electric vehicles.

A little more about
my everyday role

What I love most about my job

There is such a variety in my daily tasks. I get to work on vehicles that have only done a couple of thousand miles or put a battery in an older EV to keep it on the road. We are all still learning, but it’s exciting that we are at the cutting edge of electric vehicles.

The best bits about working in a team

Working in a team with people of different ages is great! We have banter, get a job done more quickly, and I’m learning all the time.

The next steps in my career journey

After a few years, when I'm fully qualified, I would like to just work with EVs. I love this job and can see myself doing this until I’m in my 50s or 60s.

An electric vehicle charger plugged into a car

Find out more about this role

Discover what qualifications you’ll need, how much you can earn, and what the next steps are.

Nine apprentices sitting on sofas socialising

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