Movement technology specialist Movetech UK has underlined its commitment to advancing skilled engineers by recruiting another apprentice and putting its management team through leadership and management training.

New recruit Michael Smith, 22, had no formal engineering training before joining the Bolton company, though is a hands-on mechanic who has been engineering for years. He takes the total number of apprentices employed by Movetech UK to two.

At the same time, the company’s senior management team has been undertaking leadership and management training through the government-backed Growth Accelerator programme, which aims to help high growth businesses reach their potential.

“This is an exciting period for the company and we are going to need a fully-equipped team to fulfil our growth plans,” said operations manager Russell Entwistle, who is currently part of an additional director development programme provided by Arrimar Ltd.

He added: “The advanced engineering apprenticeship is an ideal platform to train our turntable technicians because it give a formal structure and qualification whilst teaching the specifics of our unique equipment. Most projects we work on are bespoke, and we want to make sure our decades of expertise are passed down the generations.

“Getting an engineer in and expecting them to be able to understand how we work, and what service levels we expect, isn’t easy. This way, our apprentices can get a broad knowledge of all aspects of engineering and a specific knowledge of our industry.”

Movetech UK’s other apprentice, Adam Gastall, joined in September 2010 and is working towards NVQ level 3 advanced engineering with Manchester’s Skills Solutions.