Heavy vehicle technician

Heavy vehicle technicians service and repair lorries, trailers, transporters, forklifts, buses and coaches.

Also known as: HGV mechanic, LGV technician

• Starter salary£26,000 a year
• Experienced£55,000 a year
• Typical hours40 to 50 a week

What you'll do

As a heavy vehicle technician, you could:

• carry out scheduled service and maintenance on vehicles
• attend breakdowns to carry out repairs
• diagnose and fix faults in mechanical, electrical and hydraulic systems
• dismantle, repair and reassemble parts
• use hand and power tools and other specialist equipment
• order spare parts from suppliers
• prepare vehicles for MOT inspections
• make quality checks before handing vehicles back to customers
• complete records for each job

Working environment

You could work in a workshop.

Your working environment may be noisy, dirty and physically demanding.

You may need to wear protective clothing.

Skills and knowledge you'll need

You'll need:

• the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
• knowledge of engineering science and technology
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• problem-solving skills
• to be flexible and open to change
• the ability to use your initiative
• the ability to work well with your hands
• customer service skills
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

How to become a heavy vehicle technician

You can get into this job through:

• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• applying directly

College

You could do a college course to learn some of the skills that might help you to get a trainee technician job. Courses include:

• heavy vehicle maintenance
• heavy vehicle maintenance and repair technology

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship with a service and repair company.

They include:

• Heavy Vehicle Service and Maintenance Technician
• Bus and Coach Engineering Technician

The apprenticeship you choose will determine the type of vehicles you work on.

These take around 3 years to complete and combine on-the-job training with study off site.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Direct application

You could apply directly for jobs if you have experience and qualifications in heavy vehicle mechanics, working with lorries, construction equipment, agricultural machinery or passenger vehicles.

Some employers may take you on if you've worked as a mechanic on cars and vans and give you extra training so you can work on heavy vehicles.

You can also train as a vehicle service engineer in the army and RAF .

Restrictions and requirements

You may need a HGV driving licence for some jobs.

Career path and progression

You could work for:

• haulage companies
• airports
• organisations that have their own vehicle fleet, like rental companies
• bus and coach companies

With experience, you could become a senior service engineer or workshop manager.

With further training, you could take up a dealer principal role, managing all aspects of a service and repair company's business.

Professional and industry bodies

You could join the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) for professional development training.

Guides for this industry

• Engineering: pay, interviews and getting started →

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