Job Profiles
Retail Motor Industry
Careers in Motorsport

Today's motor industry is looking for young people keen to meet the challenges of new technology. In the manufacturing sector, traditional engineering skills are influenced more and more by advances in robotics and computers but equally by developing personal leadership skills. In the highly competitive world this industry operates in the key to success lies with the individual.

Making better value products and improving working methods needs resourceful recruits with initiative and determination and motor manufacturing offers a wide range of career options.

Careers in sales and marketing, especially in the retail sector, offer equal satisfaction. The car showroom is a challenging environment where advanced interpersonal skills are employed. It is now possible to take a university course in vehicle retailing. Progression into management is open to all with determination.

Leaving university is only the start for a graduate engineer as they receive further training from their employers. First steps are good GCSE passes in maths and science, plus a broad range of other subjects, then A-levels in maths, science and technology. Alternatively, taking a BTEC course in an engineering subject (to NVQ level 3) is a minimum entry qualification for a degree course.

They turn experimental research and development into new vehicles, either as totally new models or improved versions of existing models. They combine creative styling ideas with engineering skills to produce detailed, accurate visual interpretations, usually with the help of computer aided equipment.

These specialists see 'design' not only as something that simply looks good. The main priority is that the product does its job reliably, safely, economically and is environmentally responsible. Design engineers turn concepts into plans for working equipment, deciding size and shape and the materials to be used. The final design base is used by development or production teams for manufacture.

Development engineers turn designs into the required products, and build prototype models used for testing. Their job centres on assessing individual components and complete vehicles against cost, performance and safety. A lot of time is spent in long-term studies of experimental work on current models and prototypes.

Improving existing products is equally important, working with marketing and research departments to find parts which could be made more cheaply, more efficiently or made more appealing to the customer.

Production engineers are organisers and planners, usually working with state of the art, flexible manufacturing and computer-controlled facilities. They are responsible for making sure that high quality raw materials or components are turned into high quality products. Total quality control is a process which runs through the whole process of vehicle manufacture.

Increasingly, design, development and manufacturing are seen as a continuous process, working simultaneously on a common database.

They fit products to people, using sophisticated market research techniques and dealer customer clinics to guide manufacturers' decisions on how best to meet customer demand, today and tomorrow. Their job identifies what future customers want and whether the product can match those needs.

Using research information from surveys, interviews and questionnaires, marketing departments influence the way products are developed and improved and chart international demand. Using information from sales staff, advertising surveys and sales figures, they decide whether the company's products have met their 'target' buyers or whether changes are needed in design, pricing or specification.

Sales engineers have the challenge of negotiating high value contracts, often supporting the work of their own company as well as its international distribution and dealer networks.

'Thinking on your feet' is a key to success in this specialised area, as well as making fast decisions, negotiating prices and fixing realistic delivery dates, all in consultation with development and manufacturing departments, to ensure customer requirements can be met. Selling to overseas markets needs language skills and technical knowledge to discuss import/export regulations as well as product specification.

These require a BTEC Higher National Certificate/Diploma.

They work with professional engineers using computers, modern materials and electronics on detailed and demanding tasks, and are often responsible for supervising skilled craftsmen and women. Extensive practical experience and specialising in a certain area puts them in numerous departments, such as manufacturing, quality control, new product development and production engineering.

These skills see many technical engineers rise to the top of the industry, taking advantage of opportunities for development and promotion.

They are as important to the industry's success as professional engineers and technicians. Craftsmen and women carry out detailed work and are trained to turn engineering drawings and instructions into finished products. Crafts people are trained to use a wide variety of skills to make the most of the high technology equipment used in motor manufacturing. Increasingly they need more than one range of skills and they take appropriate NVQ/SVQ qualifications.

Work on installation, maintenance and repair of production, control or electronic equipment. Others can diagnose faults and repair electrical equipment on motor vehicles.

Work on production lines, changing tools and settings on computerised, numerically controlled machines or robots.

Ensure mechanical parts are in good order.

Fashion wood and other materials to make castings for vehicle components.

Produce sheet metal components used in prototype assembly and production models.

They usually start their training aged 16 or 17, often through the Youth Training Scheme with its training and work experience. Firms normally expect GCSE passes in maths and technical subjects like engineering, workshops theory, practice and design and technology.

A Certificate of Pre-Vocational Education and Technical Vocational Education Initiative will be considered. Craft trainees undertake a three or four year course alongside a study course, leading to either a City and Guilds or BTEC qualification.

Source: SMMT