A total of 28 young service technicians recently graduated from the John Deere Ag Tech and Turf Tech advanced apprenticeship programmes, run by national training provider Babcock.
The group of third year students, almost a third of the total of 101 apprentices now undergoing training with John Deere and Babcock, received their certificates during a specially arranged visit to the company’s Mannheim facilities, including the tractor factory, in December.
The trip also included a tour of the cab manufacturing facility and European Parts Distribution Centre at Bruchsal, and a graduation dinner with John Deere management. The presentations were made at the John Deere Forum in Mannheim by John Deere’s European regional customer support manager Robert Wick and regional training delivery manager Peter Leech, John Deere Limited training manager Chris Wiltshire and Babcock programme manager John Chambers.
Bruce Cockburn of Scottish dealer W M Dodds Ltd at Jedburgh, Roxburghshire, was named apprentice of the year and presented with a crystal plaque, an additional certificate and vouchers for workshop tools worth £300.
The apprentices can go on to complete their education for a fourth year to gain the John Deere Diploma and register at LTA2 level in the industry’s Landbased Technician Accreditation scheme, while starting their adult training within the John Deere University.
Now in its 20th year, Ag Tech was the first such scheme to be introduced in the UK and won a National Training Award at the end of 1997, the only one ever made to an agricultural machinery apprenticeship programme. Since the first programme started in 1992, more than 500 apprentices have graduated through all three John Deere schemes (Ag Tech, Parts Tech and Turf Tech) and are now working in the company’s nationwide dealer network.
