Fuzz Townshend backs new car apprenticeship course
Car SOS presenter Fuzz Townshend is supporting a new apprenticeship scheme aimed at teaching youngsters classic vehicle engineering skills.
Emtec Colleges and The International Guild of Specialist Engineers (TIGOSE) have formed a new partnership to bring the apprenticeship schemes to Emtec College workshops in Nottingham. The course started on 8 December and is aimed at maintaining skills and training a new generation of experts for an ageing vehicle restoration industry.
The course has modules in paintwork, panel repairing and machine shop engineering and is structured around the Institute of Motor Industry’s level two and three classic vehicle restoration scheme.
Fuzz – who was an apprentice bus fitter with West Midlands Transport – said: ‘Apprenticeships have moved on since I started out, but once someone’s achieved the fundamental skills, you can focus on specific marques, or building classic race engines. I’ve worked around the world, and I’m learning all the time. ‘It’s immensely rewarding if you have the skills and can share that enthusiasm. A dedicated apprenticeship programme is exactly what is needed to bring new talent and young people into a thriving business.’
Driving force behind the apprenticeship scheme, Michael Scott, said: ‘It’s a real comfort to see The International Guild of Specialist Engineers’ project take off – it’s the Rolls-Royce of classic apprenticeship initiatives.’
Murray Scullion