New recruits: Jonathan Picking, car painter at the Agnew Repair Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Ana Arendar speaks to young people who have completed their training and recently started work in the automotive industry
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.I became interested in working in the motor industry after listening to a talk from a career developer who came to my school. I then did an NVQ. It took three years to complete, but it was great, and when I finished studying, I started working full-time at Agnew.
My job involves spray-painting cars that are brought into the garage. Some are brand new and others are damaged, but mostly they come in after having been dented and I’ll prepare them and paint them. One of the best jobs I had was painting a silver Porsche. It had been brought into the garage because someone had got a nail and scraped it across the bonnet and down one full side. It was up to me to make it look new again.
I recently came second in the nationwide young painter of the year competition at Thatcham. I won a glass plaque and when I got back to Belfast, my boss had bought me a new spray gun! Eventually, I’d like to move up the ladder and go into estimating – where you appraise the damages done to a car and order parts – or management.
TOP TIP: "Set yourself a goal. Decide whether you want to continue work on cars or perhaps go into management - that way you have something to work towards."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments