Women Technicians Driving Change and Thriving in a New Automotive World.
With the automotive industry evolving at a rapid rate, BMW Group Australia, NextGen Jobs and Kangan Institute’s Automotive Centre of Excellence partnered to develop the industry leading and modern accelerated three-year apprenticeship program, BMW #NextTech.
Launching in early 2021, 41 Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology apprentices were placed across sixteen BMW dealerships in Victoria and New South Wales in the first intake of the program. #NextTech is currently at 137% planned capacity.
First year Light Vehicle Mechanical apprentice Jamie-Lee Martin, who moved to Shepparton in regional Victoria from Queensland in 2012; and like most automotive technicians, she has always loved cars. Helping her dad work on cars, Jamie knew that working in the automotive industry was what she wanted to do for a career and now she’s living her dream.
Jamie had been trying to find an apprenticeship for seven years when she applied for the automotive apprenticeship at Shepparton BMW. “The apprenticeship was advertised online, I applied and didn’t think I would actually get a chance because it was with BMW. It was very intimidating, but I took my chance and here I am,” Jamie said when asked about applying for her apprenticeship.
The team saw her strong interests and enthusiasm for the industry and all Jamie needed was to be given an opportunity to excel in her trade, “The BMW brand has a lot of training attached, including becoming a qualified BMW Technician and/or an Automotive Electrical Technician and we wanted Jamie to be a part of that,” Dealer Principal Aaron Brain said.
In a brand that is growing quickly, finding someone who is enthusiastic and wants to build their career is imperative. This enthusiasm and passion made Jamie stand out from the rest. Having Jamie as part of the team at Shepparton BMW is great for the business, but also good for her too.
Shepparton BMW is a small dealership, which means it is a very vast environment for Jamie to learn in. She works with head technicians, undertakes minor to major repairs, electrical diagnosis and everything else in between. Being in a small workshop opens up big opportunities and career growth. Jamie has said she has been welcomed and accepted by all team members and enjoys going into work every day. “The entire team here has accepted me and supports me. They are happy to explain things or answer my questions,” she said.
Not only is there continual learning and growth for Jamie in her apprenticeship, but there is continual learning and personal growth. One of the biggest things that Jamie has been taught is to never say, ‘I can’t’, it’s just ‘how’ you can do it. “My supervisor, Tim, the Lead Technician here, taught me that. He is the one who has gotten into my head, which has changed my entire perspective on life. I have gained so much confidence in myself.”
Being a female in a male dominated industry can intimidate someone who is just getting started in their career, but there are so many benefits of being a woman in a non-traditional trade. One benefit for Jamie is the empowerment to reach her career goal, “being in a male dominated trade, it honestly doesn’t feel like it, as I’m not treated any differently to anyone else here. I think it’s very empowering to be a female in this trade. It makes me feel like maybe I could empower other women to not give up on their dreams and not let the knockbacks get them down.”
Grateful for the opportunity that Shepparton BMW and the team have given her, Jamie says she is never looking back, “this chance has given me another outlook on life, something to look forward to everyday and so much more confidence in myself.” Jamie wants to continue working in the automotive industry with BMW, aiming to become a Master Technician, the highest qualification which will take her about eight years. Jamie is up to the challenge and is looking forward to growing in all areas and aspects of her professional and personal life.
The team at Shepparton BMW sees Jamie continue to grow, taking the opportunities she wants so she can achieve as much as she wants to. They would love to see her become an expert at the brand and a leader in the dealership.
Jamie’s advice to other apprentices looking to get into a trade is “don’t be afraid, follow your ambitions, be prepared for knockbacks but keep trying because there will be someone out there who will give you an opportunity like I have.”
Finding out about the #NextTech program, the team at Shepparton BMW were impressed with the presentation and excited about the opportunity for a young person to complete their apprenticeship early, “The program stood out to me because of the way NextGen Jobs runs and manages it. From a small business perspective, it was a no brainer for us to focus on the learning and development of the apprentice and NextGen Jobs to deal with the paperwork side of things.” Aaron Said.
A part of being involved with the #NextTech program is the mentoring services for the apprentices and the dealership. The NextGen mentors are always available to answer questions and guide apprentices through their apprenticeship, through scheduled visits in the workplace or while the apprentices are at training.
Shepparton BMW’s advice to other companies looking to engage with NextGen Jobs, “try new things, you can continue to the same old, we’ve been trying seek ads, but that wasn’t working, then we found out about the program and how Jamie can advance her qualification, made sense to jump into it.”
There is already a strong interest in the 2022 #NextTech intake and the program is expected to exceed projected expectations.
To find out more on how to be involved:
Contact BMW #NextTech National Program Manager and Mentor, Mark D’Aversa, via mdaversa@nextgenjobs.org.au or 0421 795 772.