Apprentice Luke Heads to Cambodia
LUKE HEADS TO CAMBODIA WITH THREE YEAR LAND ROVER APPRENTICESHIP IN HIS BAGLuke Smith has become the latest fully-fledged member of Westover Land Rover’s workshop team, having completed a three-year apprenticeship with flying colours. The training has seen Luke attend residential courses at Land Rover’s headquarters in Leamington Spa for one week each month, supported by on-the-job training at the prestigious Barrack Road showroom.
Luke’s hard work is being rewarded with a full-time position at Westover and his success is also being celebrated with a ten day trip to Cambodia, courtesy of Land Rover. He and the 11 other technicians from across the country with whom he trained will put their technical skills to good use, installing solar panels in a remote Asian community that currently lacks power.
“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my apprenticeship,” says Luke. “There’s a great group of people here and I’ve had an enormous amount of support from everyone. There’s such a high level of experience and a massive skill-base in the workshop that it’s a really positive learning environment. I feel privileged to be a proper part of the team at last!
“I’m really looking forward to the trip to Cambodia, although I’m not a hundred per cent sure what to expect - I’ve never been to Asia before, so it will be a whole new experience for me. Land Rover always sends its newly-qualified technicians on an adventure of this sort and it’ll be a total break from the focus of the last three years. It’s great to know that we’re going to be making a real difference to the lives of the people in the village we’ll be working in.”
Newly-qualified Luke joined Westover Land Rover from another of the Westover Group’s dealerships in New Milton. He will now spend 12 months consolidating his skills before he moves onto the next stage of his training, which will lead to an ATA qualification (a voluntary assessment to demonstrate the professional status and credibility of highly-skilled individuals working in the motor industry).
“Huge congratulations to Luke,” adds Pete Walker, Westover Land Rover Service Manager. “It’s a long and challenging apprenticeship, designed to produce high quality technicians – which is certainly true in Luke’s case! We wish him every success in his continued career with Westover Land Rover.”
Luke, who is 20, lives locally in New Milton. A new apprentice will join the Westover Land Rover team in May.
