The latest intake of Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) apprentices were inducted at the company's Moorebank headquarters in Sydney on Wednesday March 30.
The seven apprentices were drawn from the TMHA network around the country and accompanied by mentors from their respective TMHA branches.
TMHA national technical advisor and trainer Gerry Larney said the company received more than 600 applications from around the country in this year's apprentice drive.
"This is one of the biggest by far since we began our apprentice program back in 2005.
"The latest intake brings the number of apprentices currently training around the country to 37, not including the 10 apprentices who completed their apprenticeship in the first quarter of 2016," Mr Larney said.
As part of the induction the apprentices were given presentations on Toyota values, company policies and expectations, safety procedures, the history of Toyota and Toyota Production System demonstrations.
The apprentices met with members of the senior TMHA management team before being presented with their tools of trade.
"TMHA recognises the apprentice program is a real investment in our future. After all, today's apprentices are tomorrow's technicians," Mr Larney said.
"We instigated the annual apprentice intake over a decade ago to ensure we have a strong skills base to support us as our business grows.
"We also pioneered specialist TAFE training for Australia's forklift technicians.
"As we celebrate our seventh consecutive year as Australia's top forklift brand we remain well aware of the importance of having a skilled and knowledgeable team of technicians ready to provide high quality back-up for the diverse range of Toyota Material Handling equipment," Mr Larney said.
TMHA supports the training and development of its forklift technicians and apprentices by holding an annual National Skills Contest aimed at keeping them at the cutting-edge of industry standards.
TMHA's apprentices with members of the senior management team