BARNSLEY College has teamed up with a national car retailer and servicing company and its Automotive Technologies Centre will house this new academy partnership.
Car Supermarket, which has ten branches and two preparation centres, will use the academy to identify and nurture the next generation of automotive technicians, and those interested in a career in the industry.
Representatives from the business – established in Hull in 2001 – helped officially open the branded academy room at the ATC which is a £3.5 million state-of-the-art training centre at the college’s Honeywell campus.
Car Supermarket Talent and People Manager Vanessa Warrington said: “The college has great facilities and amazing talent coming through that will keep businesses like ours going forward. The equipment and EV area are fantastic and our room here looks absolutely superb.
“We’re always on the lookout for individuals that are going to fit well within our organisation. We’ve already interviewed a couple of apprentices here for one of our opportunities within the branch.”
The academy will encourage students to consider work placements with Car Supermarket, offering visits to the firm’s Birdwell-based facility and in turn letting representatives come to speak to students.
Vanessa added: “We need great technicians, body shop workers, painters, and valeters, to make the cars look great and be of good quality. We also need great salespeople.
“Although students are learning to be a technician, that might not necessarily be the route they end up going down, and we can present different opportunities to them.
“We have already brought a lot of people in our organisation through from those apprenticeship routes or different roles into more senior roles – our CEO Matt Barrick used to be a technician – we’re very much about helping develop people to fulfil their potential.”
