Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians: pay and what the work involves

Occupation 5231 · Skilled trades occupations

Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians

Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians diagnose, maintain, repair and test mechanical, electrical and electronic systems in light vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches, motorcycles and specialist vehicles.

How people enter it

There are no formal academic entry requirements, although some employers may require GCSEs/S grades or an equivalent qualification. Training is undertaken Off and on-the-job. Apprenticeships at NVQ/SVQ levels 2 and 3 are available and take three to four years to complete.

What the work involves

visually checks, test drives or uses test equipment to diagnose engine and mechanical faults
removes, dismantles, repairs and replaces defective parts and prepares new parts using appropriate tools
reassembles, tests, adjusts and tunes the appropriate parts, systems or entire engine
carries out routine maintenance checks on oil and air filters, brakes and other vehicle parts/systems
diagnoses faults in electrical/electronic circuitry, removes faulty components and fits replacements
checks condition of electrical/electronic systems and carries out servicing tasks
installs additional electrical amenities such as radio/CD players, aerials
repairs and services air conditioning, heating and engine-cooling systems
perform repairs, tests and maintenance to roadside vehicles

Also called

Auto electrician · Car mechanic · HGV mechanic · Mechanic (garage) · MOT tester · Motor mechanic · Motor vehicle technician · Technician (vehicles) · Vehicle technician · Roadside Technician (motor vehicles)

What it pays

Measure	Hours	Basis	Period	Value	Source
5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	None	2026-03	134,000.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	None	2026-03	139,200.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	None	2026-03	157,700.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	None	2026-03	7,800.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	None	2026-03	18,600.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	None	2026-03	165,500.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	None	2026-03	5,100.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)

Every regional figure

ONS does not publish occupational pay below region. Cells the survey could not support are shown as withheld, with its reason — adding a region split to a specific occupation leaves roughly a tenth of cells publishable.

Region	Measure	Hours	Value	Period
East	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	17,300.00	2026-03
East Midlands	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	11,600.00	2026-03
London	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	6,400.00	2026-03
North East	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	9,300.00	2026-03
North West	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	18,300.00	2026-03
Northern Ireland	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	7,800.00	2026-03
Scotland	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	18,600.00	2026-03
South East	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	26,000.00	2026-03
South West	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	14,000.00	2026-03
Wales	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	5,100.00	2026-03
West Midlands	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	18,100.00	2026-03
Yorkshire and The Humber	5231 : Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians	None	13,100.00	2026-03

Common questions

Does pay for vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians vary by region?

ONS publishes regional pay for this occupation where the survey sample supports it — 12 of 12 cells on this page. The rest are withheld by ONS, and are shown as withheld with the reason, rather than left out.

Where do these pay figures come from?

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, published by the Office for National Statistics. Figures are shown exactly as ONS publishes them — we do not adjust, model or fill them in, and every number on this page carries the series and period it came from.

Classified alongside this

Aircraft maintenance and related trades · Boat and ship builders and repairers · Rail and rolling stock builders and repairers · Vehicle body builders and repairers · Vehicle paint technicians