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Apprenticeship - Auto-care Technician - Level 2Apply Now »
Location: Johnson Building
Years: 2
Interview: Y
Course Summary
An Auto-care Technician carries out a range of services and repairs to cars, car derived vans and light goods vehicles, working in an Auto-care or “Fast-Fit” Centre, which may be part of a national chain or operated by a regional/local independent group/owner.
An Auto-care Technician requires a unique combination of technical, retail and customer service skills. They will use a range of tools, measuring and diagnostic equipment to identify and repair simple system faults.
The Auto-care Technician not only has to demonstrate expertise in the technical elements of their role and have a good grasp of the practical and theoretical aspects of the vehicle systems they service, but also needs to have excellent telephone, customer handling (including how to handle difficult customers and deal with customer disappointment) and effective sales skills, as well as strong problem-solving and self-organisation skills.
They must be able to work as part of a team but also operate independently, understanding how their centre operates from a commercial perspective and how their actions contribute to business results, while maintaining a high standard of workmanship.
Entry requirements
Apprentices without Level 1 English and Maths will need to achieve this level and take the test for Level 2 prior to taking their apprenticeship end-point assessment.
For those with an education, health and care plan or legacy statement, the English and maths minimum requirement is Entry Level 3. British Sign Language qualifications are an alternative to English qualifications where this is thei apprentice's primary language.
Course Content
An Auto-care Technician will demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the following:
- Tyre legislation and technical information including EU tyre labelling, tyre pressure monitoring systems, sidewall markings, and homologated fitments relating to cars, car derived vans and light goods vehicles
- Fundamentals of specific vehicle systems including steering and suspension, braking systems, battery and charging systems, exhaust systems and air-conditioning systems
- Vehicle 4-wheel geometry principles
- Basic consumer legislation relevant to the occupation
- Appropriate Health and Safety legislation and requirements for the workplace
- Hybrid/Electric Vehicle system and safe working procedures
- Data protection requirements to protect customer and payment information
- General sales principles including identifying customer and vehicle needs, presenting solutions, closing the sale and dealing with buying resistance
- How the business works and how you contribute to the overall results, demonstrating commercial awareness
- How to carry out vehicle safety inspections and routine maintenance using manufacturers' specifications or approved schedules, using vehicle specific data and meeting legal requirements
- The importance of following workplace procedures and the consequences of not doing so.
They should also have the competency to achieve the following skills in the workplace:
- Contribute to maintaining a healthy and safe workplace, including the maintenance of key equipment and carrying out general housekeeping
- Carry out stock procedures including dealing with routine stock deliveries, placing stock into storage, carrying out stock rotation duties and ordering parts for customers following company procedures
- Carry out vehicle safety inspections and routine maintenance in line with manufacturers' specifications or approved schedules, follow company procedures and complete approved documentation
- Make recommendations to customers based on the results of inspections, ensuring that sales recommendations are accurate and fully costed, are ethical and are in the best interests of the customer at all times, using language that is transparent and avoids jargon
- Carry out replacement/repair and balancing of a range of light vehicle tyres, including ultra-low profile, directional, asymmetric and run-flat tyres fitted to a range of wheel sizes and types
- Carry out the replacement of components on a specific range of vehicle systems including steering and suspension, braking systems, battery and charging systems, exhaust systems and air-conditioning systems
- Carry out 4-wheel geometry operations including adjustments on a range of vehicles with different suspension and steering systems
- Use a range of specialist tools and equipment, mechanical and electrical measuring tools and diagnostic equipment to support fault identification and repair
- Identify and procure correct parts to meet specific customer requirements
- Access vehicle technical data to inform inspections and make judgements on wear and serviceability
- Deal with and resolve low-level customer complaints
- Communicate effectively with customers, suppliers and colleagues
- Use specific company IT systems within the workplace, including point-of-sale systems and hand-held devices.
How will I be assessed?
On-programme learning is the period of learning, development and continuous assessment which takes place throughout the duration of the apprenticeship.
The apprentice must keep a portfolio of evidence, which may be stored either electronically or as a hard-copy, throughout the on-programme training and formative assessment. This will contain work they have completed from a wide range of activities and should include evidence to support the formal Gateway meeting. The portfolio will not be assessed at End-point Assessment (EPA) but it will form the basis for the questions that will be assessed during the Professional Review component of the EPA.
The portfolio of evidence should contain:
- A record of work activities undertaken
- A copy of the agreed training plan
- Progress Review Records
- A record of achieved competencies
- Copies of assignments and projects
- Records of reflective learning activities showing reviews of their own performance (to support demonstration of Behaviour B5)
- Records of on-programme knowledge assessments
- Evidence of any additional relevant Continual Professional Development (CPD)
Are there any additional costs or specialist equipment required?
Apprentices will be expected to comply with their company's standard Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) dress code. Any shortfalls in safety equipment will be addressed during the first week of the course.
What can I do after this course?
Completion of this apprenticeship standard will be recognised by the relevant professional institutions as the evidence required for Engineering Technician (EngTech) registration through a professional review.
For those deemed capable and ready, there is the chance to progress to higher levels of education and training.
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Suhayl Bhikha
Halfords and Derby College offer career switch from shopfront to Autocentre floor
The UK’s leading retailer of motoring products and services Halfords has teamed up with Derby College so that a talented employee can switch from the retail shop front to the Autocentre shop floor.
The move comes as part of a rolling company scheme which gives Halfords’ retail colleagues a chance to change direction and retrain as vehicle mechanics if they want a change in career path.
Suhayl Bhikha, 27, decided to apply to become a trainee mechanic and Derby College Group apprentice when he saw an internal email offering a potential new career.
He was highly praised in his role as a customer service adviser at Halfords’ Wyvern retail site but decided he wanted a new challenge.
Now he is six months into a two-year apprenticeship at the Halfords’ Autocentre based in Wyvern next door to his old job and working towards his Level 2 Autocare qualification at Derby College. He goes into the Johnson Building one day a week for workshop and classroom studies and regularly receives visits and phone calls at work from the college for appraisals and assessments. Throughout, he is mentored and trained on the job by experienced colleagues at Halfords.
Dave Nichols, who looks after the day to day running of the Halfords Autocentres’ apprentice programme, started as an apprentice himself 25 years ago in Essex. The company has 313 Autocentres and more than 120 apprentices on its books.
Dave said: “We chose Derby College for the qualification it provides, and its expertise and facilities. We had done some work with the college in the past, for part-time employment, and we were impressed by the quality of people who came through. The travelling distance is also good for our apprentices – we work with a lot of colleges across the UK and we want to give the best offer we possibly can for them.
“We’ve done a lot of work with our retail arm to give people opportunities to move around in the business and to give the right people the opportunity to move onto an apprenticeship. A lot of people may have been doing really well in retail but the next step was to go into a management role. Some of our colleagues don’t want to do that, it’s not the right pathway for them. This is a very real alternative for progression within the business.”
Suhayl said he was learning something new every time he went into college.
He said: “It’s good – very interesting. The company and college work well together. There’s a different challenge every day, whereas next door it was pretty much the same thing all the time. I applied for the apprenticeship because Halfords look after you and I wanted a career. I’ll get my qualification and decide from there what’s next for me.”
Dave said that Halfords offers its apprentices the opportunity to take Level 3 under its own internal training scheme and this allows them to become accredited and then to become an MOT Tester. The company is due to take on a new cohort of apprentices in September, with the possibility of a further role coming up at its Derby West Autocentre
It’s good – very interesting. The company and college work well together.
