The attraction of working and earning while studying for a modern apprenticeship, such as the CLAAS Agricultural Apprenticeship, is evident in the fact that this autumn a record 30 students from across the UK and Ireland have joined the scheme.

Of these, two are the first to study as part of a new Parts Apprenticeship. As with service technicians, there is a shortage of young knowledgeable and experienced parts personnel coming up through the industry. It is in order to address this that CLAAS UK, in a joint initiative with AGCO, has established the Parts (Sales and Marketing) Apprenticeship, which will be run alongside the Technician course at Reaseheath College.


Reaseheath intake

CLAAS is the only UK agricultural machinery company to offer two training bases for its Technician apprentices, and in addition to the 13 studying at SRUC Barony campus, a further 17 will be training at Reaseheath College in Cheshire.

Both groups of CLAAS engineering students will be amongst the first to study for the new Extended Diploma in Landbased Technology. This high level vocational qualification has been introduced to meet the Government's calling for training programmes to better meet employer's requirements.

The qualification is provided by IMI Awards, who have been working in conjunction with CLAAS to ensure that the course satisfies the needs of the agricultural industry today.

Whilst the structure of the course is broadly similar to the previous National Diploma in Landbased Technology, the new IMI course will also see students being assessed for their competence and skills, using work based evidence and e-portfolios.

Over the first three years of the four year course, the students will train specifically for the Extended Diploma in Landbased Technology. Once completed, they will then undertake additional advanced technical and industry certificates in the final year and by the time they qualify, they will be eligible for Landbased Technicians Accreditation Scheme (LTA) 2, Service Engineer status.


Barony intake

In addition to time spent at Barony or Reaseheath College, the students will also work at the CLAAS Group headquarters in Harsewinkel, Germany and the CLAAS UK headquarters at Saxham, Suffolk, so they can get a real feel for the size of the company, which employs about 11,000 people in 14 plants worldwide.

They will also spend time training at engine manufacturers Mercedes-Benz and Caterpillar, plus other outside providers to CLAAS.

Having qualified, the young technicians will have access to training and development pathways aligned to the Landbased Technicians Accreditation (LTA) Scheme, which will enable them to progress their skill base further. Having attained LTA level 2 status, with additional dealer experience and CLAAS training, they will have the opportunity to reach LTA 3 (Master Mechanic) or even LTA 4 (Master Technician) status.