A mechanical aptitude is helpful and a full, clean driving licence is generally a requirement of the job. The efficient running of a newspaper's Transport Department is usually the responsibility of the Transport Manager. Those working at senior level will often be expected to undertake further studies and work towards achieving the Certificate of Professional Competence. Senior employees of a newspaper often have company cars and workshop staff are responsible for the maintenance of those cars, along with the fleet of delivery vehicles. Mechanics therefore, need to be versatile to deal with a variety of different vehicle sizes, makes and models.
Opportunities generally exist for time-served mechanics.
Interested young people should have some basic knowledge of how a vehicle works, be reasonably good at maths and English and be practically and technically minded.