Nathan Lees has gone from classroom to workshop with some help from GTG – and a little inspiration from the Skills for Work programme. This is Nathan’s story so far.
Did you always want to be a technician?
‘I originally wanted to train to be an electrician and work with my dad, but I have always been interested in cars. Through my school I attended the Skills for Work programme at GTG Glasgow, and that made me think more about training to become a technician.’
Why did you want to pursue an apprenticeship?
‘A big part of it was that I get to work with cars, as that’s what I’m passionate about. And you earn money while you train which is important as well. I just felt an apprenticeship was the best route for me on leaving school.’
How did you get into the role?
‘There was an opportunity to attend the Skills for Work course at GTG. It was for one day a week and lasted a year. After that, I felt I wanted to apply for an apprenticeship through GTG and I was lucky enough to get a start as an apprentice technician which is amazing.’
What did you learn through Skills for Work?
‘We learned general car-based knowledge, like how a vehicle engine works, and more about a car’s working parts. It was really interesting, and it made me think more and more about actually going for an apprenticeship and working with cars as a potential career.’
What has been your favourite part of your apprenticeship so far?
‘Day to day you are doing the sort of jobs you would expect in an apprenticeship, like keeping your work area tidy, and smaller jobs around the place, but what I’ve really enjoyed so far is another day-to-day responsibility which is working on different kinds of vehicles.
‘We are given lots of different types of jobs; whatever comes through the door. That’s an exciting part of it, knowing you can be working on various kinds of jobs, fault-finding, problem solving. You feel like you’re learning already.’
How have you been supported since starting out on your apprenticeship journey?
‘As an apprentice, I have been assigned a mentor and I know that if I have any problems or issues, I can speak to him about them. It’s good to have that support, a person to talk to. He’s amazing at his job and is really easy to talk to if I need any help with anything.’
How was GTG’s training helped you so far?
‘When I was at GTG, I was taught the basics of what I need to know, likes changing tyres and checking brakes. My mentor has picked it up from there and made sure that I’m growing my knowledge. From now on I will be going back to GTG on a monthly basis – it’s good to have the balance between theory and practical work, improving my knowledge away from the busy workspace in a calmer environment, to then take that back into the workshop.’
‘The guys at GTG have been great with me and I am really enjoying it so far.’