Problem / need / context
At a SOLAS apprenticeship training centre in County Limerick, trainers delivering the motor mechanic apprenticeship programme observed a recurring pattern among second and third year apprentices. While technical competence was generally strong, many apprentices defaulted to a passive role in the workshop, waiting for a senior technician or trainer to assign the next job, flag a problem, or make a call on how a task should proceed. Garage owners and service managers providing on-the-job training raised the same issue: capable apprentices who lacked the confidence or habit to take the lead on straightforward decisions, organise their own workflow, or flag improvements to how the workshop operated.
This was a concern with real career implications. In the automotive sector, progression from apprentice to qualified technician and beyond depends increasingly on the ability to work independently, take ownership of jobs from start to finish, support junior colleagues, and contribute ideas to how a workshop improves its efficiency and safety. Trainers identified a need to develop the transversal skill of Leadership and Initiative, defined as the ability to take responsibility for improvement and change, act without being prompted, and support others around you in the process. Rather than leaving this to chance on the job, the training team wanted to build structured practice into the off-the-job phase.
Intervention
The lead trainer, together with a workshop manager from a Limerick-based garage group who acted as an industry adviser, designed a four-week activity called “Workshop Lead.” During each training week, one apprentice was designated as the lead technician for the day. This role rotated so that every apprentice in the group held it at least once over the four weeks. The lead technician was responsible for briefing the group on the day’s workshop tasks, assigning bays, checking that tools and materials were correctly prepared before work began, and raising any safety or quality concerns with the trainer during the session.
The trainer stepped back deliberately during the lead technician’s briefing, observing without intervening unless a safety issue arose. The industry adviser attended on two occasions and gave the lead apprentice a short verbal debrief at the end of their session, focusing on one thing they had handled well and one decision point they could reflect on. At the end of the four weeks, each apprentice completed a brief self-assessment, identifying a specific moment when they had shown initiative during the activity and describing what they would approach differently if they were to lead the workshop again.
Outcomes
The impact of the activity was evident from the first rotation. Apprentices who had previously been reluctant to speak up in group settings took on the lead technician role with more confidence than trainers had anticipated, particularly once they understood the trainer would not step in to rescue them from normal decisions. Several apprentices identified minor preparation issues during their morning checks that would previously have gone unnoticed until mid-session, demonstrating a level of workshop awareness that the trainer had not seen from the same individuals in standard sessions.
Garage owners and service managers reported positive changes during subsequent on-the-job phases. Apprentices were more likely to organise their own workflow, ask relevant questions before starting a job rather than partway through, and flag concerns to senior technicians without waiting to be asked. One garage manager in Limerick city noted that two apprentices from the cohort had independently suggested a small change to the pre-delivery inspection checklist, which the workshop adopted. This kind of contribution had not been seen from apprentices at that stage of their training in previous years.
Trainers valued the rotating structure of the activity, which ensured that every apprentice experienced the lead role rather than only the most confident members of the group. The self-assessment component also generated more thoughtful reflection than trainers had expected, with several apprentices making specific and honest observations about their own hesitancy. The “Workshop Lead” activity has since been expanded to run across the full training block and is now a standard feature of the second and third year off-the-job programme at the centre.