Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) has welcomed one of its biggest crops of forklift technician apprentices since 2007 in its 2023 Annual Apprentice Intake, with 19 new inductees brought into the program.
As ever, competition for spots in the Annual Apprentice Intake were extremely fierce, with the 19 apprentices chosen from a field of over 1000 applicants.
The grassroots initiative fosters the development of in-demand skills that will provide the new forklift technician apprentices with valuable expertise, affording strong employment opportunities with plentiful room for growth within the company.
An induction ceremony on April 20 saw the 19 new apprentices attend accompanied by mentors from their respective TMHA branches, where they were welcomed by senior TMHA executives including president CEO Steve Takacs.
Held at the TMHA Customer Experience Centre in Moorebank, NSW, the meet and greet was followed by a safety overview, a presentation on Toyota history, values and expectations, and a tour of the headquarters.
After a lunch together, Mr Takacs then presented the new apprentices with their tools of the trade, marking a significant investment directly to the inductees.
Apprentices were invited to stay at the Rydges of Campbelltown hotel on the night of April 19, complete with a casual dinner with executives.
The 19 successful applicants will be distributed to TMHA branches across Australia, in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Albury, Launceston, Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Lismore and Queanbeyan
The four-year program now educates roughly 50 apprentices and has been successfully run by TMHA since 2007.
TMHA national manager - LEAN Management and After Sales Evaluation Cert, Gerry Larney, said the apprenticeship program was the perfect way to integrate new talent into the TMHA world.
"We use the apprenticeship program to grow our skillset and forklift technician base, it's been really successful for us," Mr Larney said.
Mr Larney said there were multiple avenues to career growth for apprentices, with many forging strong careers at TMHA.
"We have staff that started their apprenticeship at Toyota who are still with us 30 years later," he said.
"It's a great career path within Toyota. They've branched out into service managers, branch managers, sales managers.
"There are almost no barriers to where they can go in the business. If they have the skillsets that add on to their technician qualifications, they can go anywhere.
Apprentices receive thorough and well-rounded training with supervision from skilled mentors and are cycled through every aspect of the service business for a truly holistic learning experience.
Toyota has run the apprenticeship program in-house for the last 16 years, focusing on a safe work environment, while imparting the correct skills and knowledge to apprentices while also supporting their TAFE schooling over a 4 year period.
To learn more about TMHA careers visit, https://www.toyotamaterialhandling.com.au/careers/
TMHA has inducted a new group of technical apprentices pictured here with TMHA management team
