Elsa
My name's Elsa, I'm 18 and I'm an apprentice mechanic for the ambulance service. In our fleet of Cumbria, we have 91 ambulances that we look after. When we get an ambulance in for a service, we have to check that they are perfect to go out on the road and respond to any emergencies. We check the tyres, the brakes, steering, because they're going above the speed limit, so they need to be extra safe on the roads. We've got to take both the wheels off to be able to have a look at the brake pads and check that everything behind it is intact and working. It's not just the mechanical side. We're responsible for making the blue lights work, which goes on the top sides of the ambulance. As an apprentice, I'm not working on my own. I've got a mentor, who checks over everything.

[Ian, Elsa's mentor] "That's it, so the top one in."

Elsa
It's definitely a good way to learn, because it's reassuring to know that someone's checking over your work.

Ian
Elsa's absolutely fantastic to work with. She's a great part of the team. She comes in on time. She works very hard and she gets on with everybody like a house on fire. I couldn't ask for any more.

Elsa
The thing which has inspired me to become a mechanic is mainly my dad. He was always in the garage tinkering about with cars and basically just let me help him. I definitely think anyone could be a mechanic, whether you're a boy, girl. It's for anyone, as long as you've got the interest there.

I've learnt a lot of skills since I've been here. I'm hoping that my next steps after the apprenticeship would be having a job here as a fully qualified mechanic and fixing more ambulances. The most satisfying thing about my job is, if an ambulance comes in with a fault and you've fixed it, it's satisfying to know that that ambulance has potentially gone out and saved someone's life.