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We’re On The Hunt For A New Apprentice

We’re On The Hunt For A New Apprentice

07/12/2017

 

H W Martin (Plant) Ltd has been providing technically advanced vehicle and plant maintenance since the company was established 37 years ago.  Every year has seen the Plant company operate at the cutting edge of vehicle engineering, not only keeping abreast with new technologies and techniques but also working in partnership with industry leaders introducing the newest vehicles and machinery.

Training with the experts: on-the-job mentoring

 

The most enduring and beneficial of these relationships is with DAF – an organisation among the world’s market leaders in commercial vehicle development and manufacturing.  The Plant company has been a DAF Service Partner for almost 15 years and the Martin Group of Companies has been specifying and using DAF vehicles for even longer, with the Plant company providing the servicing and maintenance of the fleet.

State-of-the-art computer diagnostics

 

The Plant company keeps “ahead of the curve” when it comes to DAF vehicle technology by fully financing its new apprentices on the DAF apprenticeship programme.  Each apprentice starts with a full-time job from the very first day and everything is paid for – including a wage for the job, accommodation and food during the college-based stages, all college fees paid and travel costs to and from the college at the start and finish of each stage.  Apprentices also get fully kitted out for free with their own workwear and safety gear.

For a 16 year-old school leaver that’s a pretty good hand up the work ladder!

The Plant company’s apprenticeship scheme is a rolling programme and we are now recruiting for 2018.  Initial applications must be made at the DAF website by clicking here and once your location and work preferences have been noted, the details of potential candidates are passed on to us.

One of the Plant company’s most recent graduate apprentices is Callum Rice.  Callum embarked on the vehicle mechanic apprenticeship three years ago when he was a 16 year-old school leaver.  He is pictured below at the DAF Apprentice Awards 2017, having successfully completed three years of on-the-job training at the Plant company’s workshops near Alfreton in Derbyshire as well as several blocks of residential course work at Bristol College.

Callum (right) at this year’s DAF Apprentices graduation event

 

We spent some time with Callum to find out what made him want to become an apprentice vehicle mechanic and what the three years entailed: “I was interested in plant and vehicle mechanics because my grandad used to be a plant mechanic and I wanted to follow in his footsteps,” explained Callum.  He went on to describe the work he has been doing: “When you start at H W Martin (Plant) Ltd even though you are an apprentice you are straight on to doing the job alongside the experienced technicians.  The work is very varied, from changing a light bulb to changing an entire engine.  I also work on sheeting systems, hook-loader systems, crash cushion systems for the traffic management company and lots of other things.”  When asked what his favourite part of the job is, Callum said: “Engine jobs, as they are more complex and technical and they are the most rewarding when the job is done.”

Callum would be the first to admit that the three years he has spent as an apprentice at the Plant company have helped him to mature and boost his self-confidence, as well as building his technical skills and giving him an NVQ Level 3 qualification.  We asked Callum what advice he would give to a school leaver considering starting the apprenticeship: “They must overcome their nerves and go for it.  It is well worth it and they won’t regret it.  I was most nervous on my first day of college, but I was over it in a day or two once I got to know people and I realised they were all in the same boat.”

Learn how to strip, repair and service an HGV engine (above) and undertake vehicle inspections (below)

 

Here are the Top 10 things you need to know about the H W Martin (Plant) Ltd / DAF Apprenticeship scheme:

  1. H W Martin (Plant) Ltd has been taking on apprentices since the company was established in the early 1980s.
  2. The Plant company has been partnering with the DAF Apprenticeship scheme since 2007.
  3. It is open to male and female school leavers from the age of 16.
  4. It takes 3 years to complete.
  5. You begin from Day 1 as a paid employee of H W Martin (Plant) Ltd.
  6. All your work and college expenses are paid.
  7. It involves blocks of weeks that alternate between on-the-job training and attendance at college.
  8. The block releases are at Bristol College – a specialist technical college that includes vehicles and equipment provided by DAF.
  9. Successful apprentices gain a nationally recognised vocational qualification – the NVQ Level 3.
  10. Applications are being taken NOW!

To begin your exciting career as a vehicle technician simply complete the online form HERE.