Six apprentice Ferrari supercar service technicians attended the Silverstone round of the Ferrari Challenge UK race series for a special graduation ceremony.

The group of aftersales department operators from franchised car retail groups Charles Hurst, Graypaul, HR Owen, JCT600 and Sytner Group marked the culmination of three years of specialised training with the event at the UK’s home of Formula One on Sunday, September 22.

Francesco Balli, regional manager for Ferrari North Europe and Russell Simpson, head of aftersales for Ferrari Europe and Africa, handed certificates and gifts to the group.

In addition, Charles Hurst Group’s Keagan McCann also received an award for winning the Apprentice Technician Challenge (see below), while Connor Young received an award as Apprentice of the Year.

Charles Hurst's Belfast Ferrari franchise achieved Ferrari Classiche status last year, giving it direct support of the Ferrari Classiche department at the factory in Maranello.

The apprentices in attendance were:

Keagan McCann - Charles Hurst, Belfast

Connor Young - JCT 600 Brooklands, Leeds

Jai Padhiar - HR Owen, London

Daniel Hunt - Maranello Service, Egham

Haiden Barney - Graypaul Nottingham

Tom Smart - Graypaul Birmingham

Back in February all 12 of Ferrari's UK franchised dealerships hosted aftersales open days to showcase opportunities for apprentices.

Students were invited from selected local schools to visit the workshop and learn about Ferrari technology and potential job opportunities in their local dealership as part of the initiative.

Ferrari North Europe’s three-year programme is certified by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI), and delivers an Apprenticeship in Light Vehicle Maintenance and Repair (Standard; Level 3).

Additionally, the programme includes 24 weeks of Ferrari Technical Training Courses to allow apprentices to graduate with the skills and knowledge required by the official Ferrari dealer network.

The Italian supercar maker created its Ferrari Technician Challenge in 2007 to recognise the finest talents throughout the global network.

Open to any Ferrari technician with at least five years’ experience, participants take part in a two-day event where they are were rigorously tested through a series of theoretical and practical challenges in order to demonstrate their knowledge and skills of Ferrari products.

The tests focused on a variety of different areas, including the current and previous model ranges, Ferrari Genuine Maintenance and Ferrari Genuine Accessories, in addition to knowledge of the history of Ferrari’s road and race cars.