Name: Cain Rowan
Employer: McGrath Maserati
Favourite Heritage Vehicle and why? I used to have a love for anything air cooled, aspiring to own a Volkswagen razor, but now I've found my taste shifting towards more Italian cars, due to their little quirks, characteristics and style
Where does your interest in heritage vehicles come from? From a young age, one of the main things I had in common with my dad was going to car shows and reading car magazines. So, along the years I've picked up a lot of information and knowledge on the subject, this then snowballed into me buying my first ever classic car at the age of 16. I found myself taking it to uni with me and found myself spending most evenings sitting in the garage working on my car.
Where did you go to school/college/work before you joined Heritage Skills Academy? I stayed at school until 6th form, focusing on art and sciences. I then went to North Herts college and studied art, which lead to going to University to study games design.
What made you choose an apprenticeship with Heritage Skills Academy and how did you find out about us? I wanted to go into a career for something more practical as I found I really enjoyed a workshop environment. I originally tried going to multiple classic cars company, where I found their procedures were quite unprofessional. After this I enrolled in an apprenticeship in aircraft engineering, but the company folded a week before I was due to start. Following this, I then found an ad for my current employers, who then sent me to an interview with Heritage Skills Academy.
What can you tell me about the company you work for? McGrath Maserati is a very well managed company, they are very professional and focused on their business. They have very clean workshops and really good system for order of work.
What are the benefits of the apprenticeship programme? Are there any which have surprised you? Studying in blocks is really useful as you can really target one subject at a time, which is a lot better than just going up for a day and then having to pack up before you've even started. It also gives you great opportunity to meet lots of up and coming workers within your industry.
What are the challenges of being on an apprenticeship programme? The pressure of working but also having to challenge yourself to do better each day. You're also in a real working environment with customers cars so there's not much room for error.
How does it compare with your previous experience of school/training? The information goes in a lot better as you're actually learning on the job. You also have a huge team of people to learn from, who have a varied amount of knowledge and experience.
What advice would you give someone who was thinking about becoming a Heritage Skills Academy apprentice? Make sure it's something that you really want to do and that you're passionate about, not something you just like the idea of.
Choose 5 words to best describe your experience of learning at HSA Interesting, fun, well-paced, rewarding, historic
How have you found HSA from initial contact, through to finding an employer? It's interesting due to the fact its quite new. I've had a few glitches here and there but the staff review you and are great at finding ways of bettering the course block by block.
What have you been most impressed with (HSA and/or your employer)? I've been impressed with my employers enthusiasm towards my learning and encourages me to do well and spurs me on. The HSA team all have plenty of knowledge to give and don't stop until everyone understands any areas you need help with.
What has been your proudest moment? I've done a lot of bigger jobs and when I sit back and look at the before and after I'm very impressed with me being part of the before and after. I've also been told I'm becoming an asset to the company
What are your future plans? Stay with my current employer for the foreseeable future. After that, I want to continue working within the classic motor industry