Martin Donnelly, Permanent Secretary, BIS, visited Ferrari North Europe’s Apprentice facilities in London today to meet 13 new Ferrari Apprentices who have just been enrolled in a new three-year Ferrari Apprenticeship programme. Mr Donnelly also met three Apprentices who have recently completed the programme and are now employed full time at their respective dealerships.
Competition for the places was fierce, with over 1,100 applicants for the 13 positions. During the three-year programme, the Apprentices will attend 24 weeks of dedicated training at Ferrari North Europe’s head office, including hands on diagnostic and mechanical training on the current and past models from the Ferrari range.
Martin Donnelly said, “Apprenticeships have seen much success in recent years, with over a million started since 2010. High quality apprenticeships are at the heart of our drive to equip people of all ages with the skills our economy needs to prosper and grow. The Government is committed to helping more people to benefit from this type of training. So it is a real pleasure to meet these young people and congratulate them on their commitment to becoming the advanced technicians of the future.”
Matteo Torre, Regional Manager Ferrari North Europe, commented, “This project is part of the Ferrari philosophy of investing in young talent and we are proud to continue this philosophy through the Ferrari North Europe Apprentice Programme and to ensure that the Ferrari dealer network has a continual supply of high quality, knowledgeable and expertly trained apprentices who will hopefully become the Ferrari technicians of the future.”
Demonstrating the success of the programme, the three graduating Apprentices have all been employed full-time as fully-qualified Ferrari Technicians in the Official Dealer network. The completion of the Apprentice programme is not the end of their training with Ferrari, however, as the company has one of the highest rates of training days per employee of any automotive brand, particularly due to the complex and highly-advanced technology featured across its product range.
Ferrari North Europe’s investment in the new apprenticeship facilities amounts to over £500,000 and includes a commitment from the Official Ferrari Dealers in the UK to take on at least one apprentice for the duration of the three-year Apprentice Programme, as well as a fully-equipped workshop and equipment for apprentices to receive hands-on training for servicing and maintaining Ferrari cars.
To apply for the 2013 Ferrari apprentice intake, visit www.ferrari-apprenticetraining.co.uk.
