DAF apprentices take top honours

Apprentice truck technicians Ciaran Gilloway, Thomas Yelland and Stuart Gordon were the winners in the DAF Apprentice of the Year competition held in Bristol on Wednesday, 24th October.

All three are enrolled on the prestigious three-year National Dealer Apprentice Programme which is run at the DAF Trucks Centre of Learning at City of Bristol College.

Ciaran Gilloway, 18, was the Year 1 winner. He is employed by DAF dealer TBF Thompson of Coleraine in Northern Ireland.

The Year 2 winner was Thomas Yelland, 23, who works for Wessex DAF at their Newton Abbot dealership in Devon.

The Graduate Year Apprentice of the Year was 19-year-old Stuart Gordon. He is employed at Ian Gordon Commercials, the DAF dealership in Ayr owned by his father.

When the programme was established in 1995 there were less than 40 students and currently there are 284 apprentices enrolled, making it the largest training programme in the UK specialising in heavy good vehicle skills. This year 66 apprentices successfully graduated, bringing the total number of graduates from the programme to date to 384.

The apprentice technicians come from DAF dealerships throughout the UK and their three-year course combine hands-on workshop training with periods of residential study and practical training at the college. It is managed for DAF Trucks by Skillnet Automotive Academy, a major provider of government-funded vocational training.

At the end of the programme each student emerges with an Advanced Apprenticeship in Motor Vehicle Maintenance and Repair. This includes an NVQ at level 3, a BTEC National Certificate, a recognised welding certificate, and key skills in communication and information technology.

DAF Trucks managing director Stuart Hunt presented each winner with a shield to mark their achievement along with valuable prizes of tool vouchers and a personal cheque. As overall winner, Stuart Gordon also received a holiday voucher to the value of £750.

Robert Baxter, chairman of the DAF Dealer Service Panel and managing director of Chassis Cab of Ipswich, said: “The reputation of every DAF dealer rests on the high calibre of the people we employ and particularly the technicians in our workshops. The increasing technological sophistication of DAF trucks, combined with the pressure from customers to optimise the performance of their trucks, minimise downtime and keep their vehicles earning, demands that we have the best possible trained technicians.

“This programme is about setting, achieving and maintaining the highest standards of skill and knowledge amongst our young trainees. I congratulate all who have taken part in the programme and particularly the winners in each of the three years, whose success is down to hard work and a commitment to be the best.”