Here at Busseys, we’ve been hiring apprentices for over seven years, it’s something that the company has always supported and will continue to support in the future! Throughout this period we have been happy to see a mix of both men and women signing up to work in the motor industry, an industry that has been male dominant in the past, but one that does not reflect our true customer base.
But what apprenticeships do Busseys offer?
We offer apprentices at all of our Ford branches across Norfolk, this involves a 3 year apprenticeship, during this time our apprentices go to Daventry for two weeks every quarter, where they will be assessed on a practical side of things as well as an academic side. As well as this an assessor comes into our branches every other month to asses the progress our apprentices are making. The same process is applied for the Peugeot apprenticeship schemes at our Peugeot branches at Dereham and Hall Road, however apprentices are required to spend two weeks every quarter in Conventry. Both apprenticeship schemes require a GCSE grade C in English and Maths and every apprentice (providing they pass assessment) will end up with a recognised national qualification NVQ Level 3 specific to either Ford or Peugeot.
However it’s not just technician apprenticeships we offer at Busseys; we look for apprentices for roles in our parts department and only recently have we’ve taken on a service advisor apprentice at our Hall Road branch. Both roles are assessed on site and don’t require the apprentice to go to a college.
Why Busseys?
We spoke to Victoria Smith, from HR, to tell us why Busseys is the best place to do your apprenticeship.
“I think we have a really good level of qualified, experienced, people currently that are in the areas that we have our apprenticeships. So I think they can get the best hands on experience, they can get a lot of knowledge and experience gained. Ford has got a lot of new products that are coming in and it’s a popular brand for a lot of people. Peugeot has got 3 apprentices that are all different years, so that’s really good as well. They do fantastic courses and training. I think to get manufacture specific is a real benefit to them in the future and going forward. As a company we’re very supportive, there’s no argument about what they need, if they need to get things signed off and more exposure to stuff, we do everything we can to support that. I think we are fully committed, our managers are and our teams are to helping apprentices. It’s a cultural thing that I think we’re really good at.”
What’s the best way to introduce our apprentices to you? Well, to put them under the spotlight of course!
Now that you’ve heard our side of things our apprentices wanted to share their experiences about working at Busseys.
We headed down to the workshops here at Whiffler Road to interview Freya Utting, a technician apprentice who has been with us for a couple of months. We discussed the aspects of her job she enjoys the most, how she became an apprentice technician and her plans for the future. Among this we touched upon her views about women in the motor industry and what she feels can be done to help the progression.
“So I think if it was more out there as to why women were doing it [mechanics] from women who are actually working in the business. If they came forward and helped in a way”
Our next stop was to our parts department here at Whiffler Road to speak to a very busy James Dennis, our parts apprentice. He shared with us his love of the car industry, what he enjoys most about his role and where he sees himself working in the future.
“Busseys has always been a big well known company, so I felt like I could rely on them and it would be a good place to work”
Check out our video below to hear more from our apprentices and an in depth interview with Victoria Smith from HR.
“I love constantly learning new things. Nothing is ever the same and every day is different”
We don’t just hire apprentices at our Whiffler Road branch but we hire at all of our branches around Norfolk too! We were fortunate enough to grab Jessica and Rory, both apprentice technicians, away from their busy schedules and discuss with them their career goals and what they’ve made so far of their time at our Dereham branch!
Do you see yourself having a career at Busseys?
Jessica: “Yes. I think Busseys is a great place to be, with lovely staff and an amazing support team to help you”
Rory: “I do.. I intend to learn as much as possible over my 3 year apprenticeship”
Why did you choose Busseys?
Jessica: “Many people, including Army Recruitment, told me it was a great place to learn the skills I needed”
Rory: “It would provide me with the best education in the industry as possible”
Have you always wanted to work in the car industry?
Jessica: ” I have always wanted to work with vehicles, but until now I didn’t realise how much I enjoyed working on cars as well as motorbikes”
Rory: ” Although I’ve always had a passion for cars I never considered working in the industry until recently”
To find out more about our great career opportunities, head on over to our careers page
