New apprentices welcomed by Renault Trucks

Renault Trucks has held an open day on Monday 22nd September 2008 to welcome the latest intake of new recruits to its UK Advanced Apprentice Options Programme. The programme, which is in undertaken in conjunction with training partner, RAC, has attracted 32 new recruits in total. The day was attended by Renault Trucks’ executive committee and in his welcome speech, Managing Director, Laurent Farman, stated that he was “extremely proud” of the Renault Trucks apprentice programme.

This is the second intake of apprentices since Renault Trucks teamed up with the RAC last July. Brian Burns, Training and Development Manager, Renault Trucks, says: “We are very pleased with the number of recruits we have attracted this year, both male and female, from all over the UK. The support shown at the open day was fantastic, with managers, parents and even, in one case, grandparents attending. We have mainly taken on technician apprentices but also have an aftermarket advisor apprentice. The programme offers two more apprenticeship options; auto electricians and sales executives and these are areas we are hoping to grow in the future.”

Jamie Gowlett, a new technician apprentice at the Cambridge based Renault Trucks Distributor, Welch Group Ltd, explains, “I’m really excited about joining the programme. I did two weeks of work experience in the workshop at the dealership just before the summer and really enjoyed it. I am more of a practical learner than an academic one and the apprentice programme provides me with an ideal chance to develop a solid career in an industry that can provide me with many opportunities.”

The Renault Trucks Advanced Apprentice Options Programme involves practical employment at a Renault Trucks dealership, with 6 weeks of training at one of the national training centres per year, for three years. It offers technical certificates (VRQs), NVQs and Key Skills qualifications and was the first UK truck manufacturer to offer a technical certificate level 4 qualification for technicians. The training will be run from the RTUK technical training centre at Dunstable, and RAC regional training centres at Ashfield, Nottingham and the new training centre which will be opening in Warrington in October 2008.