National Apprentice Week in the UK has given Schaeffler VLS UK Limited a chance to promote not only its Wrenches & Wisdom campaign, which highlights the benefits of workshop apprenticeships to an industry with an obvious skills and labour shortage, but also to talk about its own apprenticeship success stories.

Managing Director, Mark Dolloway, is a keen advocate of the apprenticeship route. He says, “Schaeffler has been nurturing talented youngsters for some time, and we have been fortunate enough to be able to offer full-time positions to many of the apprentices and interns that come to us to learn about the aftermarket, and business in general.”

Mark adds, “We now have a number of high-quality full-time employees that have stayed on after a successful apprenticeship, all performing really well in a variety of roles including warehouse logistics, product management, customer service and marketing.”

One of the newest recruits is product management apprentice Harry Loudon, who is working with the global Tractor team at Schaeffler’s Hereford HQ. He says, “I grew up in Hereford, which has a thriving agricultural community, so when an apprenticeship opportunity arose with Schaeffler I was keen to apply. After a hectic first month I can honestly say I am enjoying the challenge and the work.”

Another apprentice with aspirations to further their career with the global technology company is Charlie Camden, son of IT Manager Dave. Customer Service Manager, Joe Loughman, said, “Since being with Schaeffler, Charlie is flying through his course and has proved that he was born to be in Customer Service. Our hope is that Charlie will stay with Schaeffler but progress his apprenticeship into other areas of the business to enhance his skillset and make him an even more valuable asset to the company.”

Kian Patel joined Schaeffler as a Marketing intern in 2022, and is now a fully-fledged member of staff. Marketing Manager, Jeff Earl, said, “Kian came to us as an intern, but quickly established himself as a key member of the UK team. Amongst his many other tasks, Kian manages the day-to-day running of the REPXPERT Bonus Shop and is also now part of the Digital Marketing Europe programme, supporting colleagues in Czechia, Germany and across the continent.”

With its record of success with apprentices, Schaeffler is happy to prove that it not only talks-the-talk with Wrenches & Wisdom, but it is also walking-the-walk. 

You can learn more about how Schaeffler’s Wrenches & Wisdom campaign is supporting the aftermarket at: https://www.repxpert.co.uk/en-gb/wrenches-wisdom