As we embrace the New Year and the many new opportunities it will bring, we caught up with our latest apprentices, Alfie and Jayden, who started with us in September 2024. They are doing the ARU Level 3 Land-based Service Engineering Technician course, delivered by Writtle College, to embark upon a practical engineering career with many opportunities and prospects. The apprenticeship is completed while in hands-on employment, and with 3 months under their belt, they are settling in with their Turney mentors, learning new skills, and familiarising themselves with the machines.
They attended their Block 1 residential training in October where they began learning to recognise components, build confidence, and visit a Case New Holland factory. Though not essential, both apprentices have experience on farms through friends and family, Jayden even has some of his own sheep, and they have been lending a hand from an early age. Alfie had previously completed work experience with Turney’s so he was familiar with the business and they both were successful after a test and interview.
Alfie started with mentor Dave Vear, our resident Can-am expert, assisting with on-farm service jobs, drive belt jobs, and other tasks. He has also supported the PDI process with multiple units sold by our busy sales team and is learning the different Can-am models. Jayden has worked with his mentor on drills, helped PDI Kuhn Megant models, and assisted with on-farm drill servicing, among other things. He aspires to work on tractors in the future and is happy to be busy throughout the day on various tasks.
At Turney’s, we are very proud of our apprenticeship program. We currently have 5 apprentices in employment and others who came through the course and are now valued members of the workshop team, including some enrolled in the 1970s! In November 2024, Turney Group was awarded Farm Machinery Dealer of the Year at the Service Dealer Awards. Investment in aftersales was a key factor to the success, with the judges concluding; ‘Turney’s have established a highly regarded apprenticeship program as well as being renowned for best-in-class workshop operations, community involvement, team morale, and strong industry and supplier relations.’
We wish all of our apprentices the best of luck in their future careers and intend to continue growing the next generation of agricultural engineers to ensure the longevity of our industry. If you, or anybody you know, would like to learn more about the apprenticeship programme and apply for our next intake, please email careers@turneygroup.com.
