Motor vehicle technician
Service, diagnose and repair cars and vans - including hybrids and EVs - in a busy garage workshop.
- Salary£22,000 – £42,000
- Hours38 to 45 hours a week; could include evenings and weekends, flexibly
- Working for yourselfSelf-employment is possible
What the job is like
Motor vehicle technicians (often called motor mechanics or light vehicle technicians) keep cars and vans safe and roadworthy. You'll use hand tools and diagnostic computers to find faults, carry out servicing, replace worn parts and road test vehicles, and increasingly work on hybrid and electric vehicles with high-voltage batteries.
If you've always tinkered with cars or bikes, this is one of the most direct ways to turn that into a career. Most people train through a Level 3 apprenticeship with a garage or dealership, and there's plenty of room to specialise - diagnostics, EVs or even motorsport.
What you'll do
- Find and diagnose faults using hand tools and diagnostic computers
- Carry out routine servicing and maintenance
- Repair or replace faulty parts
- Road test vehicles to check repairs
- Explain to customers what work is needed and what it will cost
- Work safely on high-voltage batteries on hybrid and electric vehicles
- Keep service records and stock levels up to date
Where you'll work
- Workshop or studio
- Indoors
- In a team
- On your own
Skills and hobbies that help
Weighted by how much they matter in this job, from the official job profile's skills and tasks. Tap one to see other careers that use it.
Key skills
Used a lot
Handy to have
Hobbies that give you a head start
How to become a motor vehicle technician
Apprenticeship
Motor vehicle service and maintenance technician - light vehicle (Level 3, typically around 36 months) with a garage - usually 2 to 3 years, combining on-the-job training with college. You could also train as a vehicle mechanic in the British Army.
College
Light vehicle maintenance and repair courses, or the T Level in Maintenance, Installation and Repair for Engineering and Manufacturing. You can specialise with courses in electric and hybrid vehicle repair.
Skills Bootcamp
Green Skills Bootcamps (for adults 19+, up to 16 weeks) include electric vehicle maintenance.
Other ways in
Some large breakdown organisations run their own training academies and apprenticeship schemes.
Qualifications, licences and cards
- A driving licence is needed for some jobs
Where it can lead
- Master technician or diagnostic technician
- Roadside assistance technician
- Electric vehicle specialist
- Motorsport engineering
- Running your own garage, training apprentices or teaching in further education
Good to know
- Workshops can be noisy, dirty and physically active, and you will wear protective clothing.
- Specialising in electric vehicles is one way to make this a green job.
Courses and training
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Skills Bootcamp
Skills Bootcamps – Skills for Careers (Department for Education)
Free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for adults aged 19 or over in England, ending with a guaranteed job interview. Subjects include construction, engineering, heat pump technology and HGV driving.
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Apprenticeship search
Find an apprenticeship – GOV.UK
The official GOV.UK service for searching and applying for apprenticeship vacancies in England.
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Course search
Find a course – National Careers Service
The National Careers Service search for college and training provider courses in England, including Skills Bootcamps.
Official information
Sources
We checked these pages in September 2026. Rules, pay and courses change, so always confirm with the official source.
- National Careers Service: Motor mechanic job profile nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/motor-mechanic
- Skills England apprenticeship standard: Motor vehicle service and maintenance technician - light vehicle skillsengland.education.gov.uk/apprenticeships/st0033-v1-5
- Skills England apprenticeship standard: Autocare technician skillsengland.education.gov.uk/apprenticeships/st0499-v1-3
- Skills Bootcamps (Skills for Careers) skillsforcareers.education.gov.uk/pages/training-choice/skills-bootcamp