‘Supercharged’ NFDA Drive My Career event to focus on apprentice wellbeing

The health and wellbeing of automotive apprentices will be at the heart of a “Supercharged” free online event hosted by the National Franchised Dealers Association’s (NFDA) Drive My Career campaign.

Announced to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week (May 10 to 16), the June 9 event has been created in response to feedback received by Drive My Career during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. 

Responding to a survey held in December, 73% of 227 the campaign’s target audience of young people aged 16 to 24 said they struggled with their mental health during the pandemic and 78% would be interested in learning more about the topic.

Additionally, the average rating to the question “how important is it to you for an employer to support staff’s mental health” was 9.1-out-of-10.

Sue Robinson, NFDA Chief Executive, said: “Drive My Career is committed to promoting the automotive industry as a great place to work and, at the same time, support its community of young people.

“Following the feedback received during the pandemic, we are looking forward to hosting our first ‘Supercharged’ event focusing on young people’s wellbeing and mental health”.

NFDA Drive My Career’s “Supercharged” event follows the success of the first Driving Inclusivity in Automotive event held in partnership with Lookers back in December 2019.

Speakers from Babcock International, Ben, Lookers and the NFDA will be cover a number of issues related to apprentices’ wellbeing on June 9.

Additional speakers will be announced soon.

The event will begin with an introduction from Drive My Career and Lookers to outline the objectives of the event and touch on the implications of mental health in the automotive industry.

Gill Rughoobeer, safeguarding and welfare manager at Babcock International, will discuss general wellbeing and its link with mental health, how to recognise potential issues and understand what you can do for your wellbeing.

Rachel Clift, health and wellbeing director at Ben, the automotive charity, will introduce the audience to Ben and provide an overview of the charity’s health and wellbeing services.

A Q&A will close the session, allowing attendees to ask direct questions.

Matthew Clay, group qualifications manager at dealer group Lookers said: “Lookers are delighted to be working with industry partners, Ben and Drive My Career, to support the wellbeing and mental health of apprentices across our sector.

“Apprentices are the future of our Industry, we hope this webinar will give them the tools to further build their resilience and general wellbeing, establishing a platform to grow their careers”.

Registrations are now open for the NFDA Drive My Career Supercharged event. Click here to register.