Ferrari apprentices start living the dream

Press Release

Enzo Ferrari, the eponymous founder of the fabled Prancing Horse, once said that “A Ferrari is a dream. For most, it will remain a dream – except for those lucky few.” The 11 new teenagers who started their 3-year Ferrari Apprenticeship today are indeed “those lucky few”.

Competition for a place on the Ferrari Apprenticeship scheme was understandably fierce, with over 1100 applicants from school-leavers who dreamed of working for the famous Italian Prancing Horse. The new Apprentices will be employed at Ferrari dealerships throughout the UK, and will complete 24 weeks of training at Ferrari North Europe’s head office as part of their 3-year apprenticeship programme.

Matteo Torre, Regional Manager Ferrari North Europe, commented: “We are delighted to welcome the new Apprentices to Ferrari as well as congratulate the 4 graduating Apprentices as they begin their career as fully-qualified Ferrari technicians. We have been overwhelmed by the interest in this programme. This project is part of the Ferrari philosophy of investing in young talent and we are proud to continue this philosophy through the Ferrari North Europe Apprentice Programme and to ensure that the Ferrari dealer network has a continual supply of high quality, knowledgeable and expertly trained apprentices who will hopefully become the Ferrari technicians of the future.”

During the 3 year programme, the Apprentices will receive intensive training on diagnostic and mechanical equipment required to service and maintain the current range of Ferrari models such as the Ferrari California, 458 Italia, F12berlinetta and the flagship FF. The Apprentices will also have access to other models from Ferrari’s recent past, including the F430 Coupe and 612 Scaglietti, to ensure they have the necessary skills to confidently service the cars they are most likely to see in the workshop at their respective dealerships.

Demonstrating the success of the programme, the 4 graduating Apprentices have all been employed full-time as fully-qualified Ferrari Technicians in the Official Dealer network. However, completing the Ferrari Apprentice programme is not the end of their training regime with Ferrari. In fact, Ferrari has one of the highest rates of training days per employee of any automotive brand, particularly for technicians, due to the very complex, unique and highly-advanced technology which is featured on the current product range – much of which has been developed through Ferrari’s experiences in F1. This means these Ferrari Apprentices – now Ferrari Technicians – will continue to receive on-going training at Ferrari North Europe, as part of a structured career development path for their entire career – as we constantly need to train technicians on new processes, methods and technology every time we introduce a new car.

The Ferrari North Europe Apprentice Programme is open to all school leavers aged 16 or over, and includes in-house and in-dealer training for 3 years, with 24 weeks of specific training at Ferrari North Europe’s head office during the 3 year programme. Those interested in applying for the September 2014 intake should register their interest at www.ferrari-apprenticetraining.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

Ferrari North Europe’s investment in the new Apprenticeship facilities amounts to over £500,000 and includes:

a commitment from the Official Ferrari Dealers in the UK to take on at least one apprentice for the duration of the 3-year Apprentice Programme.
two new purposely-designed classrooms (92 sq m) with 11 computer terminals for online assessments and for computer-based learning, in addition to the two classrooms currently available for technical training for dealer staff.
a dedicated and fully-equipped workshop of 324 sq m with two vehicle ramps and over £20,000 of tools and equipment for Apprentices to receive hands-on training for servicing and maintaining Ferrari cars.
a Ferrari Technical Training Instructor dedicated to providing courses and tuition for the Ferrari North Europe Apprentice Programme.
a number of vehicles and service parts for hands-on technical training and diagnostics tuition, including some of the most highly innovative products from the Ferrari range such as the 458 Italia and F430 Coupe.

The new Ferrari North Europe Apprentices are: