Apprentice Parts Sales advisor

Ford & Slater; Leeds; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 22,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading automotive service provider in the UK is offering an apprenticeship for Parts Sales Advisors. The role involves developing customer service skills while learning about parts management in a fast-paced environment. Apprentices will receive structured training, including hands-on experience alongside experienced staff. Successful candidates will earn a Level 3 Customer Service qualification, paving the way for a fulfilling career in the automotive industry.

Benefits

All travel, accommodation, and meals covered for training

Hands-on training experience

Potential for full-time career post-apprenticeship

Qualifications

• Ability to manage customer enquiries effectively.
• Skills in sourcing parts and processing orders.
• Experience in using computer systems for inventory management.

Responsibilities

• Safely store and organise parts in the department.
• Assist customers with enquiries and provide product advice.
• Process customer orders and manage payments.

Skills

Attention to detail

Communication skills

IT skills

Customer care skills

Team working

Organisational skills

Education

Level 3 Customer Service Specialist Standard qualification

Functional Skills in maths and English (if required)

Job description

Responsibilities

As an Apprentice Parts Sales advisor, you'll learn how to work in a fast-paced parts department and develop key skills in:

• Safely storing and organising parts
• Receiving, checking, and handling stock deliveries
• Processing customer orders and payments
• Using computer systems to manage parts and orders
• Identifying, sourcing, and ordering parts for vehicles
• Assisting with customer enquiries and offering product advice when needed
• Monitoring and solving customer problems/enquiries
• Following key company procedures and working as part of a team, Business focused service delivery: Demonstrate a continuous improvement and future focussed approach to customer service delivery including decision making and providing recommendations or advice
• Business focused service delivery: Resolve complex issues by being able to choose from and successfully apply a wide range of approaches
• Business focused service delivery: Find solutions that meet your organisations needs as well as the customer requirements
• Providing a positive customer experience: Through advanced questioning, listening and summarising negotiate mutually beneficial outcomes
• Providing a positive customer experience: Manage challenging and complicated situations within your level of authority and make recommendations to enable and deliver change to service or strategy
• Providing a positive customer experience: Use clear explanations, provide options and solutions to influence and help customers make choices and agree next steps
• Providing a positive customer experience: Explore and interpret the customer experience to inform and influence achieving a positive result for customer satisfaction
• Providing a positive customer experience: Demonstrate a cost conscious mind-set when meeting customer and the business needs
• Providing a positive customer experience: Identifying where highs and lows of the customer journey produce a range of emotions in the customer
• Providing a positive customer experience: Use written and verbal communication to simplify and provide complex information in a way that supports positive customer outcome in the relevant format
• Working with customers/customer insights: Proactively gather customer feedback, through a variety of methods. Critically analyse, and evaluate the meaning, implication and facts and act upon it
• Working with customers/customer insights: Analyse your customer types, to identify or anticipate their potential needs and expectations when providing your service
• Customer Service performance: Maintain a positive relationship even when you are unable to deliver the customer's expected outcome
• Customer Service performance: When managing referrals or escalations take into account historical interactions and challenges to determine next steps
• Service Improvement: Analyse the end to end service experience, seeking input from others where required, supporting development of solutions
• Service Improvement: Make recommendations based on your findings to enable improvement
• Service Improvement: Make recommendations and implement where possible, changes in line with new and relevant legislation, regulations and industry best practice

Qualifications & Training

As a level 3 Customer Service Specialist apprentice, you will learn on the job while also receiving structured training to support your development.

• 80% of your time will be spent working alongside experienced colleagues at the dealership, gaining hands‑on experience and support from a dedicated mentor
• 20% of your working hours will be used for off‑the‑job training or study time
• Six in‑person training blocks at the brand‑new DAF Apprentice Academy in Nottingham
• Six to ten online sessions in small groups or 1:1 format across the apprenticeship
• An industry‑recognised Level 3 Customer Service Specialist Standard qualification
• Functional Skills in maths and English (if required)
• All travel, accommodation, and meals are covered for in‑person training sessions at the DAF Apprentice Academy
• English (grade 4)
• Maths (grade 4)
• Communication skills
• IT skills
• Attention to detail
• Organisation skills
• Customer care skills
• Administrative skills
• Team working
• Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Apprenticeship Journey

• After this apprenticeship
• A potential full‑time career within the automotive industry with many opportunities to progress to positions of authority within the dealership
• Future prospects are endless
• By having a highly regarded set of skills, apprentices can go on to develop their career within any other areas of commerce they may be interested in

Dealer Group

Ford & Slater is one of the UK's largest DAF Truck dealer groups with 16 locations across the UK employing over 800 staff whilst remaining a family run business. Specialising in the maintenance and repair of DAF Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs), with a rich history and a commitment to excellence, Ford & Slater is the ideal place to launch a rewarding career in the heavy vehicle industry.