This week was National Apprentice Week, and Swansway Motor Group shed light on what an apprenticeship in the automotive industry looks like.

The first thing to know about automotive apprenticeships is that they're not limited to technical roles. Automotive apprenticeships are available for a variety of skills and interests, be it creative, technical, mathematical, or other.

Swansway offers six different apprenticeships: vehicle technician, digital marketing, accounts, service advisor, parts advisor, and sales.

Lucas Rydings is a digital marketing apprentice with Escalla, who works within Swansway's group marketing team. As part of the role, he spends five weeks developing and practising skills at Swansway before one week at Escalla where he shares his learning with other apprentices and produces reflective reports.

Reflecting on his first four months as an automotive apprentice, Lucas said: "It's been interesting to see the different roles that make up digital marketing. Seeing what each role involves Is helping me to make decisions about my career going forward."

Many team members at Swansway have benefited from the digital marketing apprenticeships. Whether they have progressed into digital merchandiser roles, places within their marketing team, or gone on to achieve marketing roles elsewhere, their apprenticeships helped them to develop a well-rounded knowledge of digital marketing, preparing them well for a career in the marketing sector.

With any apprenticeship comes the opportunity to earn whilst you learn. Young people can increase their knowledge, while being paid for it, an excellent incentive for those who struggle in traditional educational settings.

Apprenticeships also offer an opportunity to practice what they learn, as Carley Farrington, senior recruitment advisor at Swansway explains: "Apprenticeships prepare young people for work exceptionally. Placing someone into a real working environment where they develop career skills in real working scenarios is something that cannot be replicated."

On top of a salary and real-world experience, there are less well-known benefits to being an apprentice too. One bonus is the Totum card, which provides discounts on fashion, eating out, cinema tickets and more.

This card entitles apprentices to discounts on hundreds of brands and is specific to people studying recognised apprenticeship qualifications. These recognised qualifications are where automotive apprenticeships come into their own, as qualifications are recognised, and often administered, by major automotive brands such as JLR and the VAG Group.

The apprentice qualification forms the first stepping stone on a clearly-mapped progression for automotive apprentices who often progress forwards in their careers through the completion of accreditations from manufacturers.

In addition to the regular apprenticeship learning, Swansway apprentices have access to Swansway's in house training team who help employees to develop their professional skills across several areas of the business.

The opportunities for progression in the Automotive industry are seemingly endless. Swansway recently promoted Sam Booth to the head of business role at Crewe SEAT, who began his journey as an 18-year-old Apprentice Vehicle Technician.

David Smyth, Swansway Motor Group director, explained: "Swansway prides itself on our professional development and helping our employees to maximise their careers. Sam is one example of many who have taken this opportunity and run with it, often with the starting point of an apprenticeship." If you're interested in an Apprenticeship in the automotive industry visit the Swansway Website for more information.