Job for the girls!

I am not surprised that few females seem to have the motor industry at the top of their dream career list when they leave school. Many see either 'garage mechanic' or 'car sales' jobs as being 'just for the boys' and few job ads in the motor industry seem to be written with girls in mind.

But I think women might be missing a trick here because a job in a good independent garage or franchised car dealership can offer excellent prospects for females who are willing to work hard, learn new skills and stand up and be counted in what is often a male-oriented workplace to begin with.

In a nutshell there is no real reason why a job in the motor industry shouldn't be as popular with women as one in fashion or beauty for example, especially now that the motor industry is becoming serious about providing a female friendly working environment - and there is extra funding for training to help more women climb the career ladder.

My experience is that the recession has encouraged a growing number of leading good garages commit to making their businesses more female friendly in future and those that are planning to recruit in 2010 recognise that female staff could help them do a better job for women customers.

So my message to women who are looking for a job in 2010 is a simple one. Don't ignore motor industry job vacancies simply because you think that men rule the roost here. Times are changing fast and there will be interesting job vacancies and training opportunities that are equally available for women in this industry just as soon as the UK economy starts to recover.