Leeds-based SM UK (www.smuk.co.uk), a vehicle engineering specialist, is to expand its apprenticeship programme, as it looks to grow nationally.

The company took on its first apprentices in 2014 and has since trained 10 apprentices — all have remained with the business.

With the launch last year of a new 10,000ft² vehicle conversion centre in Leeds, along with plans to open a further centre in Birmingham later this year, SM UK intends to recruit another two apprentices in the coming months.

Started by founder and managing director Steve MacDonald in his garden shed in 2000, the company has grown to employ more than 50 people in Leeds and around the UK.

Working with clients including Scania, DAF and Volvo Trucks, it designs and fits vehicle safety and awareness systems, and carries out conversion and refit projects on commercial vehicles.

Mr MacDonald said: “We recruited our first apprentices five years ago now, and it’s a testament to their commitment to the business, as well as our determination to create a really positive environment for all our staff, that these guys are all still working with us as full-time automotive electrical engineers.

“It’s fantastic to see how an apprenticeship programme enables people to develop talents and skills they might not have even known they had the potential for.

“We also find that very often apprentices can offer a fresh perspective on the business.”

Jamie Baxendale, who started as an apprentice at SM UK in Leeds in 2017 and is now a fully qualified automotive engineer, said: “As an apprentice, I was able to gain hands-on experience from day one, which quickly helped me to progress and become familiar with what goes on at SM UK.

"It also fed into the college studies I was doing alongside my work. The apprenticeship was a fantastic way to start out on my career in automotive engineering.”

The new Birmingham vehicle conversion centre will enable SM UK to provide a full installation and conversion service for its clients in the Midlands.