Are car garages willing to accept trainees? What are their tasks?

Vocational education is crucial for the proper functioning of the vehicle repair market. Garage owners are well aware of this fact, but are they always keen on engaging in the occupational adaptation of young people through admitting trainees?

Internships in European car garages

We have conducted a survey regarding internships in a dozen of European garages. Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania, where more than half of the garages currently provide internships/apprenticeships for students, stand out positively when compared to the surveyed group.

Students mostly perform simple vehicle maintenance and repair tasks. Some garages, assign non-repair related activities to trainees. However, it is reassuring to see that more than one-third of garages declare that the tasks assigned to students involve more than simple repairs or maintenance.

Which garages are more willing to accept trainees?

Large garages are much more likely to admit students for internships. This may have to do with hiring more employees. Only a quarter of large garages do not accept trainees, while in the case of small garages it’s well over a half of the respondents.

Interestingly, garages located in small and medium-sized cities are much more likely to admit students for internships compared to garages in large metropolitan areas. Perhaps this is due to the fact that in garages with ‘high traffic’ on a daily basis, it is difficult to designate a person to devote their time to on-boarding new people and supervising their activities.

“In a large car garage, especially one that is well organised, there are more opportunities to engage interns and train them. One reason might be that in such places a lot more activities are carried out at once. Various operations conducted can be split into less complicated stages – possibly entrusted to students – and advanced tasks, which must be carried out by someone with sufficient experience. In a small 1-2-station facility, the boss would have to wait until a trainee, for example, dismantles or disassembles a component before diagnosing it. Obviously, there is no time for it.

Unfortunately, the larger the city, the less likely it is for garages to be perceived as potential employers. This can already be seen at the internship stage. Young people have more alternatives with regard to education and work in areas perceived as better paid and more convenient. Sadly, without increased promotional and informational campaigns, nothing will change in this respect” – said Rafał Kędziorek, Network Development Manager Nexus Automotive Central Europe.

Research methodology

The survey which served as the source for the claims in this article was conducted by MotoFocus.eu, in the form of an online interview among car repair shops in the following European countries: Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, United Kingdom, Croatia, Hungary, Italy. In total, over 1655 individuals took part in the survey.