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Automotive technician and mechanic apprenticeships in New Zealand
Kaihangarau pūkaha waka
Automotive technicians inspect, service and repair vehicle motors, mechanical parts and systems, diagnose faults and explain repairs to customers.
The facts
- How long it takes
- 0–4 years
- Pay when starting out
- $24 an hour
- Most common pay
- $28–$41 an hour
- Experienced
- $50 an hour
- School qualifications
- NCEA Level 2 may be useful, but is not specifically required.
- Registration
- Not required for this trade.
Those pay ranges are for the job, not for an apprentice. While you are training your legal floor is the training minimum wage of $19.16 an hour if you are 20 or over and your agreement requires at least 60 credits a year of industry training; otherwise it is the adult minimum of $23.95. Plenty of employers pay well above either. How apprentice pay works →
What you need to start
- An apprenticeship in automotive engineering and mechanics.
- Experience in similar work, and a driver licence with a special-type vehicle endorsement, may be needed.
In every trade the order is the same: you find the employer first, then the training is arranged around the job. How to get an apprenticeship →
Employers listed in automotive technician and mechanic work (7)
New Zealand businesses in this trade that take on apprentices. Name, trade and region only — this site holds no reviews or ratings.
- Ebbett Waikato
- Farmer Auto Village
- Hella New Zealand
- McCarthy Motor Group
- Porter Group
- Porter Group Hamilton
- Truckstops NZ
Pay, duration and entry requirements quoted from Tahatū Career Navigator — Automotive technician and mechanic, read 2026-09-18. Wage floors from Employment New Zealand, checked 2026-09-18.