Stuart: Hello, I'm Stuart.
Sian: Hi I’m Sian.
Stuart: And we are fleet vehicle apprentice technicians at East Midlands Ambulance Service.
Sian: So before I started my apprenticeship I was in sixth form. It didn't quite suit what I wanted. I wanted something more hands on, but with structure. And then I found the apprenticeship with EMAS.
Stuart: I've always had a sort of passion for fixing vehicles. I’ve got a qualification in motorcycles originally. Wasn’t very good at school, I didn’t really [do well] academically. I've got ADHD and dyslexia so I found out in later life. So going back now with all the stuff that helps you out now, it's a lot easier than I thought.
Sian: Having the more practical side of it all works a lot better for me. I do like to be hands on, with this it's constantly, it's nonstop. There's always something new for you to learn.
Stuart: I quite enjoy working on a variety of vehicles. We've obviously got the standard ambulances, but there's electric and hybrid vehicles coming through. We've got the vans as well, so it's not all about ambulances.
Sian: For the first year I was brand new to mechanics. I didn't know anything. So even changing brakes was new to me. Now I'm taking out engines on my own and things like that.
Stuart: So there's always something new to to get your hands around and have a go at.
Sian: It is stripping things down, seeing how it works, and then figuring out the problems. There's a lot of problem solving with it as well. I could be given brakes one day and then the next day I'm doing an engine, so I'm never, it's not like I'm doing the same job constantly.
Stuart: Then all the equipment inside as well, which is, you don’t get on a general vehicle. So the stretcher side of it, servicing all of them as well, which is nice because it's a bit of a change from the service work you get.
Sian: Obviously with the ambulance service, if an ambulance isn't running, we can't go, like people [ambulance staff] can't go to call outs. So therefore people aren’t receiving the ambulances. So a big part of it is getting the vehicle on the road and making it nice and safe to transport someone to hospital.
Stuart: They save lives. So getting them out on the road is quite self-satisfying, you know it's going out to do something good.
