From Sketchbook to....

FROM SKETCHBOOK TO WORKSHOP: JAMES REED

How a graphic design graduate turned a love of historic cars into a hands-on career at the heart of Goodwood Motor Circuit

James Reed did not set out to work in heritage engineering. His route into the industry began with a degree in graphic design, casual marshalling shifts at Goodwood and a growing realisation that the cars around him interested him far more than the career he had originally planned.

PROFILE	James Reed, Heritage Engineering Technician (Coachbuilding and Trim)
STARTING POINT	Graphic Design graduate, working casually as a marshal at Goodwood
TRAINING	Heritage Skills Academy, Coachbuilding and Trim
NOW	Motor Circuit Workshop Manager, Goodwood
TEAM	Managing a workshop team of eight alongside hands-on fabrication, bodywork, restoration and event preparation

THE STARTING LINE - A creative beginning

After spending five years living in France, James returned to the UK and went on to study Graphic Design, completing a BA Honours degree. While at university, he also began working casually at Goodwood as a marshal, a role that fitted neatly around his studies.

By the time he graduated, however, James had started to question whether graphic design was really the career he wanted. The one subject that consistently held his attention was cars. Working at Goodwood meant being surrounded by historic motorsport, and the more time he spent around the cars, the more he began to think about a career that would allow him to work on them rather than simply design around them.

“I’d always been quite an arty person. I enjoyed drawing and designing things, but actually making something really appealed to me.”

CHANGING DIRECTION - Where creativity met craftsmanship

The turning point came during a visit to a Bicester Scramble with his dad. James saw traditional coachbuilding equipment being demonstrated, including an English wheel, alongside hand-formed panels. It was a world that immediately connected two things he already loved: creativity and cars.

His father already had a background in panel beating, paintwork and vehicle repair, so James had grown up around workshops. The idea began to form that the two of them could develop a restoration business together. The Heritage Engineering apprenticeship offered James a way of learning the traditional skills he would need to make that possible.

He became one of the earliest apprentices to take the coachbuilding route with Heritage Skills Academy.

LEARNING BY DOING - The practical side mattered

For James, one of the strongest parts of the apprenticeship was its balance. Rather than spending most of his time learning about techniques in a classroom, he was able to practise them.

Panel fabrication, repair work and welding became an important part of his developing skillset, alongside the wider experience he was gaining in the workplace.

“The balance was great. There was more hands-on work rather than just theory. You weren’t simply learning about the skills, you were actually doing them.”

The block-release format also meant spending time with other apprentices who shared the same enthusiasm for historic vehicles. James remembers enjoying the camaraderie of the group and the chance to develop practical skills alongside people working across the sector.

“It was always good fun coming up. The group of guys I was with were really good, and the practical side of it worked really well.”

MAKING IT WORK - Resourcefulness is part of the craft

Learning a traditional craft does not always mean having the perfect piece of equipment available. At times James had to work without the full range of machinery available to other apprentices. Making panels could mean finding another way to create a shape, adapting tools or working out how to achieve the result with what was available.

It could be frustrating and time-consuming, but it taught him something valuable: resourcefulness. When he came to HSA for his training blocks, he made a point of getting as much time as possible on the equipment available.

It also meant learning to use different types of machinery rather than becoming dependent on one particular welder or one particular tool, experience he now recognises as useful in the real workshop environment.

IN THE DRIVING SEAT - From apprentice to workshop manager

Today, James is Motor Circuit Workshop Manager at Goodwood. It is a role that combines the practical skills he originally set out to learn with responsibilities he could not necessarily have imagined when he first moved away from graphic design.

James still works hands-on across fabrication, restoration, paintwork and bodywork, but he now also manages a team of eight. The workshop is responsible for keeping Goodwood’s working vehicle fleet ready for the demands of the estate and its events, including a fleet of Series II Land Rovers.

Alongside the workshop itself, James deals with budgets, forecasting, rotas, suppliers and sponsors, making sure the team has the parts, tools and people it needs to deliver. The apprentice who once wanted to learn how to shape and repair a panel is now responsible for helping an entire workshop run.

PASSING IT ON - Recognising the next generation

The apprenticeship has also shaped the way James looks at other people entering the industry. As a manager, he now understands not only how a job should be done, but what good skills and working practices look like when he is recruiting and developing others.

He regularly recommends the heritage apprenticeship route to people who show the right interest in historic vehicles. For James, its strength lies in combining traditional skills with modern working practices and giving apprentices the opportunity to learn across different equipment, techniques and environments.

“I would 100% recommend it. The skills are very good, and I like the traditional aspect as well as the modern approach.”

And when asked whether the apprenticeship helped him reach the position he holds today, his answer is equally clear.

“100%. It’s definitely helped me get where I am now.”

FROM CREATIVE THINKING TO CRAFTSMANSHIP - A different kind of design career

James may have left graphic design behind, but the creative instinct never disappeared. Today it is expressed in a different way: understanding a shape, solving a problem, fabricating a component and finding a way to make something work.

From university sketchbooks and casual marshalling shifts to managing the Motor Circuit workshop at Goodwood, James’s career shows that an apprenticeship does not simply teach someone a trade. Sometimes, it gives them an entirely new direction.