Level 1 Motor Vehicle students from the College of West Anglia’s (CWA) Wisbech campus, visited JS Holmes in January to get an insight into a motor vehicle dealership operation.

The Nissan Dealership in Wisbech St. Mary, is a family run business, owned and run by Dealer Principal, Martin Holmes, who has grown up in Wisbech.

The motor vehicle students visited the dealership over the course of two mornings. Martin shared with the students the history of his family business, talked about the developing technology of electric vehicles and took the students around the dealership, explaining what happens in each department.

He also emphasised the importance of employability skills from the perspective of an employer, including having a positive attitude, good time management and being able to demonstrate a good work ethic.

As well as supporting the students, Martin has been involved in assisting CWA to purchase a Nissan LEAF. Recently delivered to the Wisbech campus, the LEAF will be CWA’s first full electric vehicle for use as a learning resource for motor vehicle students.  Motor vehicle tutors will undergo electric vehicle training themselves before students will be trained on the up and coming technologies.

Level 1 Motor Vehicle student, Jake Jarvis, said: 

“I was really interested in hearing about how the electric vehicles are becoming much more common. I hadn’t realised how much work has to be done to upgrade the garage as well as setting up the infra-structure around the country to keep up with the increasing demand for a better network of charging points.”

JS Holmes Ltd, Dealer Principal, Martin Holmes said: 

“I was happy to give the students insight into running a modern new car dealership.”

Martin felt it was important to emphasise to the students that the motor industry is changing. 

“The students learnt that modern day technologies with the industry are shifting towards electrification.”

CWA Work Placement and Careers Co-ordinator, Guy Bridge, said:  

“JS Holmes have been extremely supportive to our students over a number of years. They’ve provided great opportunities for voluntary work experience and full-time employment for many of our students.  For our students studying towards careers in both motor vehicle servicing and vehicle accident repairs, we look forward to this fantastic relationship continuing into the future.”