Hollie McCabe is a 2nd year apprentice bus mechanic with Dublin Bus.
"I grew up fixing motorbikes with my brother in my spare time and I just really like being hands-on and fixing things," Ms McCabe said.
"The work is physical, it's dirty, and very hands-on - changing wheels, cleaning engines, that kind of thing.
"The day-to-day environment is great, it's always happy with lots of laughs and lots of jokes."
Although it is a male-dominated workplace, Ms McCabe said she never feels left out.
"The lads just treat me like one of them, we have laughs we have jokes. I don't get put to one side because I'm a girl.
"I would encourage other women to look at this as a career. It can be nerve-racking at the start but once you get your hands on something, especially buses, you're going to love it for life."
"Once you become a fully qualified bus mechanic you can do anything," she added.
Dublin Bus is hoping that more young people will follow in Hollie's footsteps and join its apprenticeship programme.
The company has warned that a shortage of mechanics could start impacting services.
"We have record passenger numbers at the moment," said Billy Hann, CEO, Dublin Bus.
"Last year we had 159 million passenger journeys, this year we are trending towards 165 million.
"More passengers need more fleet, which needs more drivers, which needs more mechanics to service that fleet.
"We are in a situation now that we are looking for more mechanics and unfortunately we're finding a shortage in Ireland as we speak.
"It is not impacting services at moment but it could," Mr Hann said.
Dublin Bus has embarked on an international recruitment drive to secure more mechanics.
"Unfortunately, we can't get full time mechanics in Ireland so we have had to recruit internationally," Mr Hann said.
"We recruited over 40 Filipino mechanics last year, we're looking to recruit over 20 this year."
Dublin Bus has also launched a campaign to bolster its apprenticeship programme.
"We've launched a communications campaign to demystify what an apprentice is about," the Dublin Bus CEO said.
"We're encouraging young people to come to the WorldSkills event at the RDS this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to check out our stand, both Bus Éireann and Dublin Bus, and we'll tell you about what it is like to be an apprentice at Dublin Bus.
"I would challenge parents and grandparents to encourage their children and grandchildren to look at the trades, don't just look at further education and third level education, it's not suitable for everyone.
"Start to show them that there are opportunities out there and that you can make a good living from it," Mr Hann said.
A spokesperson for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science said that since the formation of the department investment in apprenticeship training has increased by 139%.
"From 2019 to 2024, registrations for apprentice mechanics (agricultural, heavy vehicle, motor) have grown by 63% from 525 to 854," the department said.
"Since the publication of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025, 19 new apprenticeship programmes have been launched to meet key skills needs in the economy such as in civil engineering, quantity surveying, wind turbine maintenance, digital marketing and software development," they added.
A new Action Plan for Apprenticeship is currently under development, with Minister James Lawless aiming to publish it in 2026.
