Fix up the future with a Car Mechanic Course!

Fix up the future with a Car Mechanic Course!

Fixing a car is expensive. As if the cost of insurance, tax and buying a car wasn’t high enough (not to mention having to qualify in the first place), there is also the added cost of trying to keep your vehicle in working order.

Luckily, if you take a Car Mechanic Course to learn yourself, you can save a small fortune in car repair costs and if you’re really interested, perhaps even pursue a career as a mechanic, which can be very financially rewarding.

What will I learn on a Car Mechanic Course?

Obviously, you’ll learn to fix a car.

Car Mechanic Courses start from absolute beginners, where you learn about the very simplest of vehicle repair and maintenance, including servicing, brake pad checks, pre-NCT checks, clutch bleeding and diagnostics (amongst other things). These courses are normally short and relatively inexpensive, meaning that no matter how packed your schedule might be, there is still time for you to take one without having to move your life around.

If you are a little more advanced, then you can consider a longer, more in depth course that may allow you to specialise in a specific field of mechanics. Engine diagnostics is a popular choice in this category, as it allows you to increase the performance of a car without the need for expensive overhauls and forms a major part of engine tuning.

Should you wish to make a career of car mechanics, then you can consider a one-year QQI course that will give you all of the practical and theoretical skills required to work in the wider automotive industry. A level 5 QQI serves as a formal qualification, that will be recognised by employers across Ireland.

A broader qualification like the QQI will also allow students to participate in wider aspects of education, such as gaining actual relevant work experience in their desired field. Subsequently there will also be a strong focus on health and safety, as well as other theoretical fields of mechanics that professionals should reasonably be expected to know. The average course breaks down into several modules, that normally include:

• Vehicle skills. This normally encompasses theory and practical elements of working on a vehicle and understanding its design.
• Health and safety
• Workshop skills
• Work experience
• How to run a garage business.

What can I do when I am finished?

Once you’re done, you should be able to perform most maintenance jobs on your vehicle without needing to take your car in for repairs all the time. Obviously, to pass an NCT or MOT (important for vehicles that are registered in Northern Ireland, as an MOT is mandated by UK law), or perform high-level maintenance and annual services, you will still need to take it to a licenced dealership, but you will find that your car is in much better condition for having been looked after properly.

If you have chosen to take a QQI or equivalent, you will be qualified to begin work in the automobile industry. Normally, this means working in a garage or similar, but if you are appropriately qualified outside of your QQI certification then you can work in other fields of automotive repair. Who knows where you could end up? All Formula One mechanics have to start somewhere, after all.

There are dozens of courses available at almost any level to help you get the most from your qualification, so if you have an interested (or a practical need) to learn about keeping your vehicle in good order, find the right course for you today!