Automotive Technician
On this page
- What's it like to be an Automotive Technician?
- How to become an Automotive Technician
- Latest Automotive Technician jobs
- Top skills and experience for Automotive Technicians
- Automotive Technician role reviews
What's it like to be an Automotive Technician?
An Automotive Technician (Kaihangarau Pūkaha Waka) works with vehicles, diagnosing problems and servicing and fixing them as needed. In addition to hands-on repairs, Automotive Technicians can diagnose and fix modern vehicles with diagnostic computers. They may work with light personal vehicles, such as cars and motorcycles, or heavy vehicles like farm machinery and trucks. Automotive Technicians often work in auto-repair workshops, conducting Warrant of Fitness checks and general vehicle maintenance and repairs. Automotive Technicians who work on heavy vehicles may be required to visit sites, such as farms or vehicle depots.
Tasks and duties
- Communicating symptoms and issues with vehicle owners.
- Testing parts and overall performance to detect the source of issues.
- Repairing and replacing defective or worn parts on vehicle such as engines, transmissions, steering columns, brakes and suspension.
- Using specialised computer software to diagnose and fix electronic faults.
- Performing scheduled services and maintenance.
- Dismantling mechanical assemblies to perform repairs, testing and cleaning.
- Reassembling parts after performing repairs.
- Inspecting vehicles for roadworthiness and issuing roadworthy certificates.
How to become an Automotive Technician
The most common way to become an Automotive Technician is to complete an apprenticeship.
Find a job with an automotive company that will support you in completing an Automotive Technician apprenticeship. By undertaking an apprenticeship you will gain on-the-job experience and earn a wage while learning valuable skills and getting a qualification. Apprenticeships typically take three to four years.
Most employers prefer Automotive Technicians to be licensed to drive the type of vehicle they will be working on. This means that if you want to be a heavy vehicle Automotive Technician, you’ll need additional endorsements to a regular driver’s license.
