Leyland Trucks will recruit 19 apprentices in 2018 to join the 43 apprentices already on the programme.
The company, based in Leyland, Lancashire, produces the full range of DAF Trucks for the European and UK market and has a long history of building and recruiting its workforce through its apprenticeship programme. In 2017 the firm won The Manufacturers MX Awards for Partnerships with Education, in recognition of its work supporting education programmes at all levels across the Lancashire region.
Ivan Shearer, HR Director at Leyland Trucks, said the company is currently recruiting its 2018 apprentice intake: “The apprenticeship programme has always been an important element of Leyland’s employment and retention strategy. While apprentices continue to be offered opportunities within our assembly areas, roles have now been expanded to include placements in the business, design engineering, fabrication, IT and maintenance departments.”
Apprenticeships at Leyland are a mixture of training on the job and classroom-based learning in partnerships with local colleges. Every apprentice is given a structured development plan that includes rotating between departments to give them a broad experience of the company.
Eloise Howard is a Leyland apprentice in her second year, completed a two-year level 4 Business Administration qualification in just over 12 months and is working towards a Chartered Manager Degree apprenticeship part-time whilst working at Leyland, saying, “I did apply for university but felt it would just set me back, whereas an apprenticeship would help me work my way up and give me a clear path. I have had so many opportunities to understand different parts of the business, and to build my knowledge and skills, I always tell people it is the best decision I ever made.”
