Motor racing champion Alice has drive to succeed on Autocare Technician Apprenticeship

Alice, 31, has competed at world-famous circuits such as Silverstone and Brands Hatch but, having become a director of the Thirsk Car Services family business she runs with her partner Chris, she decided she wanted to help out with day-to-day duties, too.

That decision has led to her enrolling on our Level 2 Autocare Technician apprenticeship and Alice has been so impressed by the quality of our Motor Vehicle workshop and tuition that she has been joined on Campus by one of Thirsk Car Services' employees Isaac Jackson, who is studying College’s Level 3 Motor Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician apprenticeship.

Having started racing from the age of 12, with her dad assuming mechanic duties, Alice started out in Autograss events, showcasing her talent on a mud surface around short oval tracks.

The hat-trick of UK titles followed before she switched to circuit racing in a Mini car but, while she still races occasionally and took part in a 24-hour event last year at Silverstone, Alice eventually came to the realisation that she had hit a wall in terms of how far her sporting career could progress without significant financial investment.

That, in turn, led to a rethink regarding her career pathway and the possibility of an apprenticeship.

“Five or six years ago, I wanted to make it to Touring Car grade, but I eventually realised that talent can only get you so far and I wasn’t born into money, so knew I had to retrain and had to think about what I was going to do,” she explained. “I met Chris through racing, because he’s a good mechanic, so I thought I’m getting you!

“In 2018, Chris set up the business and I helped him with all the paperwork and the branding, so I was involved from the beginning and started an apprenticeship at College two years ago, but only lasted four weeks, because I realised it was too much with having a two-year-old as well.

“I thought, once she’s in school, I’ll pick it back up, though, so here I am! With my racing background, I’d always been in around garages and picking up on things.

“But, if you don’t go through the avenues of education, you can’t cover everything and, whilst I knew a fair bit already, I just really wanted the qualification.”

Having left school in Harrogate, where her A Levels included Graphics and ICT (Information and Communications Technology), Alice completed an apprenticeship in Social Media and Marketing to help promote her motor sports skills and drive sponsorship interest. 

She has been able to apply all those skills for PR purposes at the garage but still craved the greater knowledge so she could contribute more with day-to-day duties in overalls.

The apprenticeship now means her time is shared equally between director duties such as HR and accounting and mechanic responsibilities across the business’ two sites, having also passed her Level 3 in MOT Test Centre Management.

She will generally work a full day on the ramp every Tuesday, meanwhile, when Isaac is away attending College.

Alice regards the apprenticeship model that combines workplace training and College tuition in a classroom and workshop as the most effective way to learn all the skills and knowledge required to pursue a career in the industry for both her and Isaac.  

“College isn’t as fast-paced as the work environment, but it is nice to get the confidence of being told that you’re doing something right, rather than having to rely on your work colleagues to have a look at your work, which might involve taking them off a job,” Alice pointed out. “I didn’t know how sensors worked, for example, but I’ve had the time to learn that at College.

“It’s also nice to work in an environment where you can pick up on what other people are doing and, with an apprenticeship, you can do that in the actual industry, rather than just in a makeshift industry at College. Hands-on learning is the best way to learn because, if you make a mistake, you learn from it, and, whilst I enjoy sitting in a classroom once a week, I think I’d struggle with that if it was five days a week.”

Alice added that she has been impressed with the standard of teaching she receives from tutors John Clifton and Stuart Nelson.

“They are both very good at managing classes and getting everybody to listen, because generally everybody just wants to be in the workshop - they don’t want to be sat down at a table,” she explained. “They get through to us very well and we’d happily continue sending apprentices here if everything stays the same.”

While she might be the only female in her College class and it is true that there remains a gender imbalance in the industry, Alice has found the profession an inviting and increasingly respectful environment for young women.  

“I wasn’t put off pursuing a career in the industry as racing was very male-dominated too, but there were still five women on the grid in the first circuit championship I competed in and I’ve not been made to feel any different in either environment,” she reasoned. “I’m just me and I think people should just do whatever they want to do.

“My daughter loves coming into the garage and tinkering around, so it would be quite the family story if it all passes down a generation but, if she does, she does, and if she doesn’t, she doesn’t. That will be up to her.

“If you’re good at it, you won’t be seen as male or female anyway, you’ll just be seen as somebody who can help you crack on and, whilst I’m quite strong, if something is too heavy, I shouldn’t be picking it up and that applies to men as well. Nobody in our garage picks up a gearbox on their own, for example.”

Whether you’re male or female, meanwhile, Alice has valuable advice, as an employer, for anybody seeking out apprenticeship opportunities.

“Isaac just walked through the door and asked if we would take him on as an apprentice and we’d prefer somebody did that,” she admitted. “Don’t get your parent to do it instead.

“Give me a bell or go for it, be bold and just walk into our garage like he did. Isaac had done a manufacturer apprenticeship before at Level 2 and wanted to continue to Level 3, so I spoke to Stuart at College and he said the Level 3 course was starting the following week. It was all good timing!"

To learn more about our Autocare Technician apprenticeship, click here

York College also offers apprenticeship course tuition in  the following areas: Accounts or Finance Assistant; Adult Care Worker; Advanced & Creative Hair Professional; Advanced Beauty Therapist; Barbering Professional; Beauty Therapist; Bricklayer; Business Administrator; Architectural Joinery; Site Carpentry; Chef de Partie; Commis Chef; Construction Site Supervisor; Content Creator; Craft Bricklayer; Craft Painter & Decorator; Cultural Learning and Participation Officer; Early Years Educator; Early Years Practitioner; Engineering Fitter; Engineering Manufacturing Technician (Electrical or Mechanical); Food & Beverage Team Member; Furniture Making Operative; Hairdressing Professional; Hospitality Supervisor (Food & Beverage); HR Support; Installation and Maintenance Electrician; Laboratory Technician; Lead Adult Care Worker; Maintenance and Operations Engineering Technician; Metal Fabricator; Motor Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician; Multi-Channel Marketer; Painter & Decorator; Plumbing & Domestic Heating Technician; Production Chef; Senior Production Chef; Stonemason; Teaching Assistant and Wellbeing and Holistic Therapist.  

A full list of our current apprenticeship vacancies, can be found here

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