All three are now qualified commercial vehicle technicians: Dan Goodwin (pictured, right) and Ethan Macrae (centre) work at the dealer’s Sittingbourne headquarters, while James Wickham (left) is based at its Ashford branch.
Gary Wilson, Sparshatts group service manager, says: “Dan, Ethan and James have demonstrated great aptitude and enthusiasm to reach this important milestone in their career development.
“Their success is also testament to Sparshatts’ philosophy of ‘growing our own’,” he adds.
Ethan Macrae, 19, is the youngest of the trio and joined the scheme as soon as he left school. “My dad is a truck driver so I’ve been around commercial vehicles all my life, and this opportunity was exactly what I was looking for,” he says. “The training process is so comprehensive that we all appreciate it’s given us a great start in life.”
Since its inception in 1995, around 3,000 young people have been on the Mercedes-Benz apprenticeship programme, with two thirds of those still working within the manufacturer’s dealer and retailer network.