Getting apprentices hooked on classics
‘Putting young people in old cars.’ That’s how CEO of StarterMotor, David Withers, describes the work of the charity, which was started in 2016. Based at Bicester Heritage, StarterMotor works closely with the Heritage Skills Academy and other colleges to support apprenticeships and apprentices and help them broaden their experience of the classic car industry.
It’s backed in its work by a host of industry players including Bicester Heritage, Goodwood, HERO ERA and a selection of other well-known classic names. And, while keen to see young people driving classic cars, it wants to inveigle them wholly into the classic universe, with maintaining and enjoying classics as important as experiencing them. StarterMotor is determined to make sure the historic motoring world offers a very practical welcome to young people, not just by encouraging them to get involved, but by providing opportunity and a direct access to do that.
David explains: ‘We’re determined to make the experience of being an apprentice really interesting. That’s why, for example, we got four apprentices restoring a Polski-Fiat, then driving it back to the factory that made it in Poland, on to Italy and the Fiat factory, and then home – we even still have the car here!’
Other apprentices have marshalled at HERO ERA events and, had Covid not got in the way, there would have been an apprentice with each of the circuit rescue crews at this year’s Goodwood meetings. Currently, there are plans for apprentices to be given access to test the HERO fleet of Triumph TRs, Jaguar E-types, Porsche 911s and even pre-1940 classics on the Bicester Heritage circuit after the rally organiser moved to the site. The apprentices will write up a full test and diagnostic report for each car. In the same way that the Academy and the Association of Heritage Engineers see the hands-on, accessible nature of classics as engaging and involving, so StarterMotor sees them as ‘a real haven in the digital age’, with a community all of their own. ‘The future now has a plan,’ concludes David.
See startermotor.co for more.