My Apprenticeship Story
Maddison Gallatley – Apprentice Vehicle Technician RRG Toyota Bolton (Part 1)
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"Initially, I went to College after High School and started with A-levels, but after a couple of months I was certain that it wasn’t the correct decision for me. I didn't enjoy it and I struggled to learn when I was sitting at a desk for hours of the day, multiple days a week. After that, I did a Level 2 BTEC in Motor Vehicle before coming to RRG Toyota Bolton. I chose the apprenticeship route because I felt it was the best way to learn the skills that I needed to become a Vehicle Technician. By actually being within the environment daily, rather than sitting in a classroom trying to learn it through pictures, videos and words on a screen. The influence of that choice was mainly my own, my family would have supported me with any decision I made, as long as it was what I wanted to do.
In High School, my favourite subjects were Maths and Science, in particular Physics. I think the main reason for that is because they have rules and can only ever have one set answer, you will be right or wrong. Compared to English, which is subjective when it comes to the answers you give. I also loved Physics because learning why things are the way they are, or why certain things happen the way they do, is the most interesting thing to me. It’s a big part of why I love cars and working on them. Understanding how all aspects of a vehicle come together to make it work is amazing.
For my apprenticeship course, if you achieved a C/5 or higher in Maths and English Language at High School or College, then that was all that was necessary. However, even if you hadn't achieved them yet, ProVQ allows you to take whichever one, or both if needed, alongside the apprenticeship scheme.
For me, because I had already done a Level 2 course in College, a part of that was to complete a 2 week Work Experience in a garage, and I was lucky enough to get into RRG Toyota Bolton for my work experience. Once I completed the college course, I then applied to a multitude of garages,
independent and dealerships. Doing so, I came across ProVQ during some of the recruitment processes with ProVQ, I had to do some entry assessments; English, Maths and a technical one."
