What is a Heavy Vehicle Body Builder?

Ever heard of a Heavy Vehicle Body Builder Apprenticeship? Well, it has nothing to do with Terry Crews and even less to do with the Terminator.

A Heavy Vehicle Body Builder is a qualified tradesperson who manufactures fit-for-purpose truck body parts, from semitrailers to huge diesel dump trucks. Remember Tonka Trucks that you used to play with as a kid? Think about them but times it by 10 million. 

They work on a wide range of big machinery, often referred to as heavy vehicles; building and fitting anything from buses to trailers. It is more than just trucks, although that is where a lot of work comes from.

Heavy Vehicle Body Building is an incredibly specialised and rare trade that requires a 4-year apprenticeship in the field of Manufacturing Engineering and Technology, specialising in Automotive skills.

If you love working with your hands and take pride in the satisfaction of building something from ‘scratch’, then this is the type of body building you need to get into!

In your apprenticeship you learn how to shape and construct complex frameworks which are welded, glued and bolted to the chassis of vehicles. Your on the job training will expose you to the skills required to fit axles, suspension, brakes, handles, locks, hinges, hydraulic and pneumatic systems.

To be successful in this trade you need to be just as powerful, durable and indestructible as the vehicles you are working on. A little like the Terminator, but you're human too.

Employers see potential in people who are interested in the different types of vehicles you might work on and are keen to adapt and transfer knowledge about what makes each vehicle unique. This helps in order to deliver highly accurate and careful work within tight deadlines, it also helps because you should be good at solving problems and thinking outside the square.

This is your chance to get out of the gym, throw out your protein shakes and smash into an amazing career opportunity to develop your skills as a highly sought-after tradie. You’ll be building bodies bigger than you’ve ever imagined.

Read more about Heavy Vehicle Mechanic Apprenticeships.