Firm takes on four apprentices

For a Wanganui company to take on an apprentice or two at any time is not unusual but Emmetts Truck Services has taken it a step further.

The company, operating from its new headquarters on Heads Rd, currently has four apprentices under its wing, taking the number of technicians on site to eight.

The quartet are all looking to qualify to level four stage in automotive heavy engineering. They include Andrew Cripps who started with the company 18 months ago, Aaron Rose who began in January and Aaron Freemantle who started in January.

The latest arrival is Richard Swain who started last week.

Mr Swain is already a qualified automotive engineer but will be able to add the heavy engineering certificate to his CV.

Robert Stewart, Emmetts Truck Services branch manager, said taking on four apprentices at the same time was not what the company would do all the time.

But Mr Stewart said with the new service centre recently opened, the business required more crew on the ground.

The apprenticeships usually took up to four years to complete, involving on-job training, night classes in the city and block courses out of town.

"Emmetts Truck Services feels very strongly about giving young people an employment opportunity and we've invested heavily in training these technicians," Mr Stewart said.

The company is a heavy transport, parts and service business operating from Wanganui and Palmerston North.

All four trainees are completing their apprenticeships under the guidance of the NZ Motor Industry Training Organisation (MITO).

Richard Chapman, MITO training adviser for the region, said one company taking on four apprentices at one time was unusual.

"The good thing is it gets them a trade under their belt and they get paid as they learn," Mr Chapman said.