To further develop local talent, ATL Automotive Group through its training department, ATL Academy, in partnership with HEART Trust/NTA, welcomed six students and graduates of local institutions to its internship programme.

The programme is structured to allow students to be paired with internationally certified senior technicians across ATL Automotive’s brands and locations over a six-week period with exposure to the dealership processes of each international brand, brand manufacturer tools and techniques.

Eight apprentice students were enrolled in the last internship programme held in August and September of 2019 and were spread across ATL’s Oxford Road, Hagley Park and Lady Musgrave locations.

Two of the students from the last cohort, Ramone Holness and Winston Hall, also took part in the annual Honda Repair-a-Thon event, which allowed them to receive hands-on experience with removing and replacing defective airbag units in affected Honda and Acura motor vehicles.

“It was one of the most rewarding, educational and valuable experiences for me in the automotive world. The environment was rich with resources to learn from. The technicians were helpful and instructive. I got to see how a proper workshop runs; we learned proper standards, practices and procedures to follow, when working on motor vehicles,” Hall recounted.

“The experiences actually set the standards that I will follow as a technician, going forward. So I want to say thanks to all the kind folks that made that happen, and please continue.”

After the programme came to a close, the Honda team also offered a full-time contract to Holness in January 2020.