Briggs has welcomed youths to its engineering team.

Six youths have completed a four-year apprenticeship scheme at Briggs Equipment and have joined the company as forklift engineers.

The Cannock-based company employs about 700 people, with 350 of those in its engineering department. It now welcomes Thomas Wood, Liam Parsons, Ryan Matthews, Matthew Shaw, Stephen Grant and Matthew Molyneux to its team after the young men obtained their National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 3 in Engineering.

Briggs Equipment's engineering standards manager, Dean Mansell, explains: "Each year, our apprentices are exposed to a vast amount of experience from hands-on practical work to classroom-based learning at college where they benefit from the theory behind forklift engineering."

The first year of the apprenticeship scheme focuses on inducting students into their roles in either Briggs' workshop or out in the field where they gain general, all-round engineering knowledge. During the second year, they are assigned practical tasks including carrying out supervised routine service and maintenance work.

Apprentices are placed permanently in their specific field throughout their third and fourth years to work independently - but with guidance from experienced colleagues - as they develop into fully qualified engineers.

Briggs' apprenticeship program is an integral part of the business. It welcomes all applications from existing engineers and people who are interested in its apprenticeship scheme.