Green Lights Ahead From “petrol head” to a career, we talk to Cloe White on her experiences in the industry and how she’s breaking stereotypes
AUTOMOTIVE
What does your role involve? I work in the parts department at Tasman Toyota New Plymouth, as an Apprentice Parts Consultant. In my role, I help select and order parts for our workshop, over the counter customers and trade customers nationwide. Through my time here, I have received a lot of training and support; Toyota New Zealand have a lot of courses to help me with my role and expand my knowledge about cars and car parts. I also get the opportunity to go into the workshop with the technicians and see where the part is and what it does if I need more understanding; and a great team to support me if I need help with a challenging situation or difficult customer.
How have you found your time at Tasman Toyota so far? I have really enjoyed it so far – it is so different from any other job I have experienced. The level of support and development I have received from my time at Toyota is far beyond what I received in previous jobs, and has greatly exceeded my expectations. I don’t think many places offer the same kind of support as what I have received over the past year; Toyota have really helped me with anything and everything.
What specific skills have you learnt? The biggest skill I have gained is my customer service skills. The ability to deal with good and bad customers in a calm and effective manner has really helped me to be better at my job. With the development of these skills, I feel like I am much more relaxed on the phone and with decision making. Additionally, I have gained a lot of computer skills, as my job requires me to use data spreadsheets and the mailing system among other things.
What interests you about the industry? I guess I have always been a little bit of a petrol head… Growing up my Dad has a passion for cars and motorbikes, so I was exposed to the industry from a young age. Now I can say that I do have a genuine love for cars and the industry itself. I also like the challenge of being a female in the automotive industry. I find that there is still a lot of preconceived assumptions about my knowledge and capability because of this, so it is a great feeling when I can prove that I know my stuff and provide top notch service to those customers.
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Meet Cloe
Parts Consultant at Tasman Toyota New Plymouth
What advice would you give to a young person who wants to get into the automotive industry? Go for it! It may be a little bit difficult to begin with, but there is a whole range of things you can do as a student to make your entry into the industry easier. When I was at school, I was involved with the Gateway programme and started working one day a week in a workshop as an automotive technician. I did “car classes” at school, and I also did a pre-trade course at WIT which covered a range of roles from automotive technician to auto-electrical and this gave me a good taste of the industry. My advice would be to get out there and see what programmes your school can connect you with. A lot of smaller workshops prefer to bring on students for work experience through a programme like Gateway, rather than someone who walked off the street.
Where do you see yourself in the next few years? I definitely see myself still in the automotive industry. Once you are in it, it is quite easy to move around so who knows where I will end up! Basically, I see myself with more qualifications and a better knowledge of the industry. I know that Tasman Toyota offer a range of industry courses so I will definitely be looking in to what else I can study with them. The appeal for me with Toyota and this industry is working with a brand and trade that is globally recognised – and I think that is pretty cool!
“We believe that if you can dream it you can do it” Find out more about Toyota careers.toyota.co.nz