The national awards celebrate the highest-achieving apprentices within the Scania network where apprentices face multiple practical and theoretical challenges over the course of two days. These challenges are designed to test their aptitude, knowledge and their overall skills.

We caught up with Toby to find out about the impact that the award has had on him over the past year!

“It was good fun, a learning experience! It was also a way of proving myself and what I know – being able to show off my skills was really important to me. Professionally speaking, it’s good to get my name out there and to have achieved something I’ve been working for a long time, it’s a nice feeling to be able to show that off”

Since graduating his apprenticeship and winning the competition, Toby's approach to his work has evolved. While his day-to-day job remains much the same, he now approaches challenges with a more positive outlook and greater determination. He is more motivated than ever to resolve the problems encountered on the job, driven by a renewed sense of purpose.

One of the biggest changes? Toby is now helping apprentices to find their feet. By mentoring he now has the opportunity to help others overcome challenges, just as he did. "I'm showing them the ropes" he explains. More recently Toby has attended award ceremonies with the company and sat on judging panels for other awards around the apprenticeship programme. Toby adds ‘It’s a nice feeling to be involved and be able to represent the company’

At TruckEast, the team are always encouraged to develop their knowledge and experience. Apprenticeships are a fantastic opportunity for gaining qualifications in a dynamic real-life environment. Toby adds ‘No day is ever the same, you’re always learning something new and that is one of my favourite parts of the job’

Looking ahead, Toby aspires to develop his expertise further, particularly within the Scania assistance field. He is keen to build his confidence and expand his diagnostic knowledge, with the ultimate goal of achieving the highly regarded status of ‘master technician’.

For anyone considering entering the competition, Toby’s advice is straightforward: Practice as much as possible on trucks in the workshop and maintain perseverance.

He also advises “Don’t enter the competition hoping to win, just expect and hope to learn and live through the experience of it. Just take it all in and you’ll be able to come back with more knowledge and experience than expected and that is what is important”