Study automotive technology in Spain, with an official qualification
An advanced-level programme you can start from scratch, with work placements in a workshop and a qualification that is understood all over Europe. Electric and hybrid vehicles have opened up a gap that very few technicians are trained to fill, and that gap is filled with official, regulated training.
What can you work as with a vocational qualification in automotive technology?
Vehicle workshop manager
Vehicle repair workshops, dealerships and company fleets.
Head of the electromechanical department
The area covering engine, transmission, brakes, suspension and steering.
Supervisor at a vehicle inspection centre (ITV)
Technical vehicle inspection stations.
Vehicle damage assessor
Assessing damage for insurance companies and workshops.
Spare parts department manager
Purchasing, warehousing and parts logistics.
Head of the bodywork department: panel beating and painting
The bodywork area, with its own team to manage.
The programme includes work placements in companies in the sector (Formación en Centros de Trabajo, FCT), which is the usual route into a first contract.
The automotive programmes you can study
The programme goes all the way to the new technologies: electric and hybrid vehicles and an introduction to hydrogen, as well as the traditional mechanics, electronics and bodywork.
Here everything is advanced level: what that means for you
The route is direct
With a Bachillerato officially recognised in Spain you go straight into the programme, with no entrance exam. As the recognition procedure (homologación) can take several months, it is best to start it as soon as possible.
What exactly is required and how do you get the Bachillerato officially recognised? → Advanced Level requirements
You can get in through an intermediate-level programme
The Technician qualification from an intermediate-level programme gives you access to advanced level with no further exams. It is a longer route, but you finish it with two official qualifications in your hands.
How do you get your secondary school qualification officially recognised and what documents do you need? → Intermediate Level requirements
Not sure whether your qualification can be officially recognised? Send us a photo and we will tell you before you start any paperwork.
And if you do not speak Spanish yet?
That is not a problem. You do not need to know Spanish to join the programme. You will start with an intensive six-month course at our school in Murcia, accredited by the Instituto Cervantes, where you will go from a beginner level up to B1.2–B2.1. After that you will begin your vocational training programme.
In a workshop you work as a team and with technical documentation in Spanish: manuals, repair orders and direct contact with customers. That is why the programme starts with the language.
In the workshop, the qualification separates the assistant from the person in charge
In many trades you can start working and prove your worth over the years. You can start in a workshop that way too, but management positions, vehicle inspection (ITV) and damage assessment require a qualification: they are responsibilities that someone has to sign for.
When you complete the vocational programme you will have that official qualification, valid across the European Union. That is the difference between having worked in a workshop and being able to run one.
You come in through the technical door
When you apply for a position at a dealership, a vehicle inspection centre (ITV) or a fleet, what is looked at is the qualification. If you obtained your vocational qualification in Spain, your qualification is worth the same as that of any other qualified professional. There is no separate category of qualification for being a foreign national.
Spanish and the visa
These are the two steps before the programme. We take care of both of them.
Six months of Spanish
The programmes are taught in Spanish, with Spanish classmates and teachers. That is why the programme starts with the language: six months of an intensive course at our school in Murcia, accredited by the Instituto Cervantes, from zero up to the level you need in order to follow a vocational programme, with an exam at the end.
If you already have a certified DELE B2, you skip this stage and go straight into the programme.
Student visa
Being enrolled at a school accredited by the Instituto Cervantes allows you to apply for the visa. The language is not only the language: it is the key to the paperwork.
We support you with the documents —admission letter, enrolment and medical insurance—, the areas where most applications are refused because the paperwork was badly presented.
If you come from the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein, you do not need a visa.
Would you rather not deal with the paperwork?
We offer an optional external professional service that handles the whole application for you. It is voluntary: you can do it yourself or request this service.
What you ask us most about automotive technology
Do I need previous experience in mechanics?
No. The programme starts with the vehicle systems —engine, transmission, brakes, steering— and moves on to electronics and diagnostics. What you need is perseverance.
Do you study the electric car?
Yes. The programme includes electric and hybrid vehicles and an introduction to hydrogen, as well as bodywork and safety systems.
Are the work placements in real workshops?
Yes, in companies with a formal agreement, and they are the usual route into a job once you finish.
Will the qualification be useful in my country when I go back?
The qualification is official and is recognised across the European Union. If you want to work in a country outside the EU, its validity will depend on the regulations and the recognition agreements of that country.
Students who arrived without a word of Spanish
Since the year 2000, 9.403 students have studied with us, most of them from the Maghreb, West Africa and much of Europe, and nearly all of them started the same way: without knowing how to say hello. You learn through immersion and in small groups, in a city where living costs little and you practise Spanish from day one.
Can you see yourself working in a workshop in Spain?
- A reply within 24 – 48 hours by email or WhatsApp
- Free and with no obligation
- We can help you in Spanish, English, French and Arabic
