Joe Cox, a Level 3 HGW Apprentice Technician, has worked at Collard for more than 2.5 years.
He initially set out to find car mechanic opportunities. But his tutor at Basingstoke College of Technology (BCOT) – a local affiliated partner – suggested he apply for an apprenticeship maintaining Collard’s impressive fleet, which would give him the chance to work on HGVs. Joe immediately felt it was the right fit, saying, “That sounds like me, that does!”
Workshop lead Lee Troddyn reflects on the college’s view of Joe, which he believes perfectly aligns with Collard’s values: “Joe won Student of the Year at BCOT. His tutors praised his willingness to help others, strong work ethic, excellent attendance, positive attitude, and, most importantly, said they would happily employ him if circumstances were different!”
No two days are the same
Across the Collard sites, there are four fully staffed HGV workshops and a plant workshop, where vehicles and machinery are maintained and repaired on-site to ensure reliability, high-quality craftsmanship, and reduced costs.
Joe’s apprenticeship programme is equipping him to compliantly maintain Collard’s fleet, including sweeper lorries, dust carts, and tippers – anything from 3.5 tonne to 150 tonne vehicles. Although his favourite vehicle to work on is a grab lorry, which he believes is “fine to drive!”
Joe begins his shift at 7 am, and today, when we spoke to him, he’d spent the morning replacing brake pads on a tipper lorry and even went the extra mile by giving the vehicle a clean.
Joe says: “No two days are the same in this job, but that’s what I like. You can be doing a scheduled MOT and then all of a sudden you have to tend to a breakdown.”
Joe’s at a stage in his apprenticeship where it’s mostly hands-on training at Collard, but he’s also done some studying at Bournemouth’s Paragon Skills, and going forward, some of Collard’s apprentices are being upskilled by a leading vehicle manufacturer at their training academy in Derby.
Joe adds: “It means the manufacturer will also train apprentices to work on their vehicles, which is amazing.”
“A lot of apprentices start off learning how to work on cars, whereas I got the opportunity to work on HGVs”
Joe on why Collard is different from other apprenticeships
What Joe’s learning
Joe’s learning journey has involved working on a variety of vehicles, but what also prepares him for the future is learning to work alongside up to 130 drivers at Collard, each with their own personalities and experiences, many of which he has been able to learn from. His workshop supervisor, Borek, has extensive industry experience and is mentoring Joe, passing on all he’s learnt over the years.
Joe’s also discovering how physically demanding the job is. He says: “The weight of the vehicles and parts means you have to be physically fit, so you can’t start eating rubbish. Safety’s very important too, I like the ‘pause to think’ motto, which means stopping before you do anything to ensure it’s safe.”
Perks of the job
One of Joe’s most memorable perks of working at Collard was when the company gave him the chance to take his grandad to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to watch his very first game.
Joe explains: “Despite being a fan, grandad hadn’t ever seen Tottenham play, and so it was absolutely fantastic to take him to his first game, and on my 21st birthday too. It was amazing, despite losing!”
What makes a good Collard apprentice
When asked what makes a good apprentice at Collard, Joe says: “You need a can-do attitude, a willingness to learn, and the ability to take advice when given, courage to ask questions, an ability to respect your peers, and a willingness to be part of the team.”
Joe’s plans for the future
Going forward, Joe is happy to progress at Collard and aims to learn more advanced diagnostics.
He concludes by saying: “A lot of apprentices start off learning how to work on cars, then move on to lorries. Whereas I got the opportunity to work on HGVs, which gives you the foundation for everything else. Think big!”
