Three apprentices at Keltruck are being recognised this month for their outstanding achievements throughout the year in the highly regarded and award winning Scania ‘Apprentice of the Year’ scheme.
Congratulations to Keltruck’s Matthew Godwin-Emerson, Richard Baker and Joe Sweet for being awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd place respectively.
Matthew Godwin-Emerson from Keltruck Droitwich was in his final year of the four-year programme. Anyone that knows or has worked with Matthew will not be surprised by his 1st place achievement. He won ‘Apprentice of the Year’ in his first year of the competition as well as coming 2nd in his second year.
The achievement of Matthew and the other apprentices not only shows the dedication and determination of the apprentice but also the support and structure of the branch they are working at. As Matthew Godwin-Emerson explains, “I have to give thanks to Matt (Droitwich Branch Manager) for giving me the opportunity to work at Droitwich so that I could pursue my chosen career path, also many thanks to the staff at Droitwich that have assisted me to reach this goal. Hopefully I can continue to learn & achieve all my goals with Keltruck & Scania.“
Matthew Pettican, Keltruck Branch Manager, Droitwich, says, “I am very proud of Matt’s achievements since he joined our team at Droitwich 4 years ago. He won the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ in his first year, he lost out to 1st place by 1 point in his 2nd year of the competition, & he has won this year’s award by the biggest margin of 18 points since the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ has been running…Matt is a great asset to my team at Droitwich. We will continue to develop & review his performance & I see no reason why he couldn’t achieve anything that he puts his mind to.”
Also in his final year of the programme is Nottingham based apprentice, Richard Baker. Richard showed great ambition and confidence even before he started his Apprenticeship Programme, Nottingham Branch Manager Graham Page recalls,
“Richard came for his interview, I asked him if he had any ambitions for the future and he said that one day he would like my job we are now 4 years in and he has been in the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ final 3 times always coming in the top 3, He passed his class one heavy goods licence at 18 under the young driver scheme he has achieved great results from college and now stands in for the shift foreman when he is off…I am actually starting to get a bit worried!!”
One of the many similarities of the apprentices at Keltruck and the network is the appreciation and love for the industry and the Scania product, Richard Baker comments,
“I always wanted to work in the truck industry from being a small boy travelling with my father in his lorry, I was delighted when I was offered an opportunity to work for Keltruck and to work on the Scania product, The technical centre completely blew me away the first time I saw it and I have learnt a lot from going there, to get in to the ‘Apprentice of the Year’ finals was fantastic, I enjoyed the challenge and although we were competitive the camaraderie was brilliant”
The youngest of the three and in his 2nd year of the Apprentice Scheme, is Joe Sweet from Keltruck Tamworth.
Being placed in the top three is a massive achievement for any apprentice, but what this has done for Joe is given him even more determination and commitment to achieve even more in next years competition. As Damian Taylor, Tamworth Branch Manager explains,
“Joe’s commitment all year has been great, and this just shows what all the hard work can do. Joe is determined to take the top spot next year.”
The Apprenticeship Scheme combines both on the job work with theory and practical elements and, upon completion of the apprenticeship, the successful apprentice will be accredited with a Technical Certificate and Key Skills, an IMI National Diploma and NVQ level 2 & 3 in Maintenance and Repair of Vehicles.
What Keltruck and Scania do through the Scania ‘Apprentice of the Year’ competition is give apprentices a playing field to create a solid career foundation in a job they love, working on some of the most modern, sophisticated trucks on the road and if these three apprentices are anything to go by, the future of the Motor Industry will surely be a bright one.
For more details on our Apprenticeship Programme, please visit the apprenticeships page or visit remit.co.uk for the Retail Motor Industry Federation’s Retail Motor Industry Training (ReMIT) site.
