The Stig presents Volvo’s ‘Top Gun’ technicians award

BBC Top Gear’s first ‘tame racing driver’, Perry McCarthy - alias ‘The Stig’ - was on hand to present the top prize at Volvo’s annual Technician Awards ceremony recently. The event was held for the first time at Stephenson College, Coalville, Leics in the smart new workshops and study area facility there.

The college is the home of the Volvo Apprentice Technician programme which is twelve years old this year.

There are 130 Apprentices currently training, with approximately fifty new recruits starting later this year. Thirty seven Apprentices have graduated in 2009 plus ten HNC/HND graduates. They all started their training with Volvo in 2004. Three hundred and ninety three students have graduated from the scheme so far.

The prestigious ‘Jim Keyden’ award for the ‘Graduating Apprentice of the Year 2009’ was won by Mark McDonald from Volvo Truck and Bus Centre North & Scotland, Perth.

The Award for ‘Highest Academic Achiever’ was presented to Luke Dale of Crossroads Truck and Bus, Boroughbridge, by Steve Turner, who is the Leading Volvo Tutor, Stephenson College.

The award for ‘Most Improved Student’ went to Gary Warren from VTBC North & Scotland, Glasgow West. It was presented by Scot Fairweather from Stephenson College, leader of the Volvo Workplace Support Team at Stephenson College.

Guests, including family and friends of the graduating Apprentices, who were entertained by ‘The Stig’ with tales of derring-do on the test track, also watched the graduation ceremony of thirty-seven Volvo Master Technicians.

Volvo’s Commercial Aftermarket Director Neil Grantham described the graduates as, “Important role models for the next generation of Technicians. Our investment in them is one of the most important we make at Volvo. It is critical to our future success.”

In addition, thirty-six Volvo Bus and Coach ‘Frontline Technicians’ stepped up to receive their graduation certificates.

Describing the Frontline Technicians as “Top Guns in the world of Bus and Coach,” Managing Director Steve Dewhurst went on to say that, “The Class of 2008 is a significant milestone for Volvo Bus - the award of ‘Frontline Technician’ certificates this evening represents more than a 100% increase in the total number of Frontline Technicians across the market. As a consequence, we can now proudly boast that we can support our Bus & Coach Customers with more than fifty Frontline technicians spread across the whole of the Dealer network. This has been a spectacular achievement and I already know that the class of 2009 will boost our position even further.”

The 2009 Technician Training Awards event was summed up by Volvo’s Competence Development Manager Andy Walker, when he explained, “The demands placed on our Technicians today are way beyond just working successfully with our products; there are demands also for professional explanations of the work carried out so that the customer understands and accepts that a professional job has been done.”

“Our Technicians also take ownership of efficient working methods so that we can always cater for our customers needs and ensure the work always gets completed successfully and the vehicle returned when promised. In short, they have to impress, or in Steve Dewhurst’s words, be Top Guns.”