As we head towards the summer holidays, graduation ceremonies are starting to taking place for the Class of 2022 technician apprentices around the country.
Last week, some 65 Volvo Trucks HGV apprentice technicians were rewarded for their hard work at a cap and gown graduation ceremony at De Montfort Hall, in Leicester.
All of them will go into full-time employment as fully qualified HGV technicians, becoming part of the bedrock of the technician team across the Volvo Trucks dealer network. Other heavy vehicle OEMs have similar schemes to Volvo’s, and it is good to see vehicle manufacturers recognising the value of apprenticeship training.
In a very tight labour market, developing future talent is essential. SMMT’s recent Sustainability Report revealed a 67% increase in apprenticeship starts in the full academic year 2020/21 compared to 2019/20 – and 16% higher than pre-pandemic levels.
While these figures mostly reflect the lighter automotive sector, the number of HGV and PSV apprentices has increased. However, ensuring we have enough top talent for the future remain an ongoing challenge – one that SMMT’s Commercial Vehicle and Bus and Coach Section groups will focus on in the coming months.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to visiting the technical training facilities around the country and seeing how they are preparing our next generation of technicians for vehicle technologies of the future.
Congratulations to all technician apprentices graduating this year, and let’s make sure they’re joined by many more in the years to come.
