The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) wants the automotive sector to embrace National Careers Week and highlight the career choices available to young people through apprenticeships.
Research commissioned by body found the majority of 11-15 year olds receive little to no careers advice whilst at school - even though more than 60% of teenagers said they wanted to jump straight into work and start earning money to avoid the growing debt associated with a university degree.

Only one in five respondants said they would choose an apprenticeship after leaving school.
“The motor industry has long been a shining beacon for the apprenticeship model. The sector has relied heavily on apprentices to evolve our workforces and keep up with new innovations. With businesses now at the heart of apprenticeships following the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy and new Apprenticeship Standards, it’s vital that information is provided to teachers and schools, so that they can positively influence young people when they come to making decisions about their career and future learning,” said Steve Nash, chief executive of the IMI.
There are more than 150 different job roles in a retail dealership which mean there are multiple career opportunities accessible through a wide variety of high quality, skilled apprenticeship programmes.

Automotive businesses need to develop significant numbers of talented young people to guarantee the future of their business in what is increasingly a high-tech sector.

“Many people aren’t aware that well-known names like Sir Alex Ferguson, the most successful football manager of all time, Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and Ross Brawn OBE, Formula One Managing Director of Motorsports, all began their career as an apprentice. And National Careers Week provides automotive businesses with an opportunity to engage with young people by giving them a chance to understand the vast array of opportunities available to them after GCSE’s,”