Published: Wessex Garage Online
Our Hadfield Road dealership in Cardiff has recently (October, 2014) taken on a full-time apprentice after he successfully proved his worth on a traineeship placement at the outlet organised by ACT Training.
Eighteen-year-old Liam Hutchings from Fairwater will now start his apprenticeship with us.
Steve Grinter, Service Manager at the dealership, said: “Liam has been really keen to learn and is full of potential. The traineeship scheme run by ACT really works for a business like ours, allowing young people a chance to experience life at a garage before they commit to an ongoing apprenticeship scheme.
“It’s almost a ‘try before you buy’ scenario and one which has proved to be very successful for both us, and the learners. We are delighted to be taking Liam on as a full-time apprentice and we will be working with ACT again the future.”
ACT was established in 1988 and has since become Wales’ leading training provider. Its vision is to make a positive difference to people’s lives by providing outstanding learning opportunities. ACT delivers fully funded work-based qualifications for learners aged 14 upwards on a range of subjects and career areas.
Traineeships were introduced in 2013 as a pre-cursor to the more traditional and established apprenticeship scheme.
The Level 1 Traineeship programme is a stepping stone towards an apprenticeship. The programme enables learners, aged 16 to 18, to gain a Level 1 qualification in a chosen route by providing work placements in key businesses across Wales.
Liam explained: “The ACT traineeship programme was recommended to me by a friend so I went for it. I had previously done work experience in a garage but the traineeship developed things much further and gave things a structure.
“Completing my traineeship helped me to realise that mechanics was definitely what I wanted to do and I was fortunate to then have had the opportunity to go onto the apprenticeship programme as a result. I would advise anyone to do a traineeship with ACT, without it I would not be where I am today.”
