What Do I Need To Study To Get a Job In The Motor Trade?

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If you are thinking of joining the motor trade the sector you are interested in will determine what you need to study. Bear in mind that this industry doesn't only relate to vehicle repairs, there are sales, accounts, dealership management, restoration and so much more.

Vehicle Sales

If you are interested in selling cars either for a large dealership or opening your own smaller independent business, then a sales degree of some kind can be useful, but not essential.

For vehicle sales you need confidence, a good knowledge of cars and superior communication and organisational skills. Many school leavers turn to car sales to make an income without any sales or marketing degree, you are able to get ahead without them, but an additional degree can be useful to help you close the deal.

Management

Many of the larger dealerships are looking for branch managers to run their stores. This requires a management degree and the ability to manage staff, communicate effectively and delegate. As a manager you will be responsible for the entire branch, meeting sales targets, managing both sales and administrative staff and dealing with customer complaints and problem solving.

Bookkeepers and Accountants

An accounting degree is essential if you want to work for one of the larger companies. All businesses need accountants but the larger companies will hire in-house accountants and if you are interested in joining this sector you will need an accounting degree.

Workshop

If you love restoring old cars or fixing new cars a mechanical engineering degree can be useful but not always essential. Many schools offer mechanics as an additional subject, so if you really want to get your foot in the door this is a good place to start.

If you have been a person that has always spent your weekends fixing up old bangers in your garage, then you can get away with not having a degree, not all workshops find this essential as long as you know engines, can problem solve and can carry out the repairs effectively.

In many cases throughout the industry you are able to find intern ships where you can learn as you work, even though you will be paid substantially less than someone who is already qualified, it's a wonderful opportunity to get your feet wet.

If you are able to get an intern ship you are able to work and study at the same time, or maybe help out after school on certain days. These intern ships can often lead to full time employment once you are qualified, but the advantage is that you gain valuable hands on experience while you study to enter the motor trade job market.

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Motor Trade Insurance Is Essential, and Here's 5 Reasons Why

When it comes to your motor trade insurance, you need to have the best possible cover to keep your business protected at all times. Here are five reasons why you cannot be without this cover.

Driving Customer Vehicles

One of the biggest risks you face in your industry whether you are repairing vehicles or selling them is driving customer vehicles. You need to drive these vehicles to find faults, check repairs have been carried out effectively and determine whether you want to buy them to sell on your forecourt.

What you may find is that you are offered three types of road risks cover. There is the third party cover, the thirty party fire and theft cover and then the comprehensive cover. The comprehensive cover is the safest option for any business as it protects both the third party vehicle or property and your customer vehicle.

Customers Driving Your Vehicles

If you are in the car sales sector of the industry, your biggest risk is enabling customers to get into vehicles you have for sale and heading out onto the UK roads. This is money you have already spent and it's profits that are driving off to be test driven.

Demonstration cover offers you the cover you need to enable customers to test drive vehicles before they buy without you having to worry about losing money should they be involved in an accident.

Customers Visiting Your Property

Your work is dangerous and there are a lot of things that can go wrong and one of them is a customer injuring themselves while visiting your property. It can be the smallest incident such as a trip when they stand in some oil which hasn't been cleaned up, but that little trip can leave you in serious financial difficulty.

You may not be aware but you are legally responsible for any claims against you when it comes to public liability, this can mean that if you do not have cover or adequate cover, you will need to pay the claim out from your bank account.

Your Staff

It is a legal requirement in the UK to have employer's liability cover when you hire one or more staff members. This cover protects you should a staff member injure themselves at work. They can claim for loss of income while they recover and if you have the right protection in place this will not leave you with an empty bank account.

Protect Your Equipment

Over and above your actual building, you need to know that your tools and equipment are protected. Some of this equipment can be extremely expensive especially when talking about diagnostic equipment. You can enjoy peace of mind with your motor trade insurance by knowing that all your tools and equipment are protected against fire, theft or damage.