Pic: William Hickman Ben Bird and Nayem Syed at Premier Mitsubishi

Giving young people a step into the automotive industry has earned dealer Premier Mitsubishi in Rochdale an award.

Premier Mitsubishi was awarded a certificate for being a top work experience provider through 2015 and this year by Our Futures, a provider of school and business links in Greater Manchester.

Since the Rochdale branch of Premier Mitsubishi, which also has a branch in Hyde, opened around three years ago, dozens of young people about to finish their secondary school education have been given two-week placements, mainly in the workshop.

Since then, two of the students have gone on to gain full-time employment at the dealership, both as mechanics. William Hickman is doing an apprenticeship, while Nayem Syed is now a full-time mechanic, having worked at the dealership on weekends and gaining his qualifications at college.