11:26 am, August 10, 2020
Vertu Motors has named Susannah Kendall as its Apprentice of the Year for 2020.
The 17-year-old, who is a service adviser apprentice at Farnell Land Rover Nelson in Lancashire and was runner-up last year, joined the automotive retail group in September 2018 and fought off competition from 275 other apprentices to the title.
Before joining Vertu, Susannah studied textiles, resistant materials, geography and ICT, as well as core subjects including maths and English, at Calder High School in Mytholmroyd, West Yorkshire, and said she discovered her passion for customer service while working in a farm shop.
She lives on a small farm with her parents and has family friends nearby with larger farms, where she regularly helps out.
Susannah was one of Vertu’s employees who were temporarily furloughed, but she was kept busy lambing hundreds of sheep, feeding orphaned or poorly lambs and mucking out pigs. She is also a member and secretary/vice chairperson of her local young farmers’ club – Calderdale Young Farmers.
Susannah Kendall is Vertu’s Apprentice of the Year for 2020
‘I feel very proud to have been named as Vertu Motors’ Apprentice of the Year. There are many fantastic apprentices in the company and to be chosen as the best is a tremendous accolade,’ she said.
‘The group values its colleagues and I have learnt so much, not just professionally but also personally. Everyone from the CEO down is hugely supportive.
‘I am very passionate about my job and I really enjoy welcoming both new and existing customers to Farnell Land Rover Nelson.’
She added: ‘I decided I’d be suited to the customer service sector as I felt that I have a talkative, helpful and bubbly personality.
‘I always like chatting to others and helping people where I can. I felt this was a good fit with my caring, happy nature and I look forward to furthering my career.
‘I would love the opportunity to have work experience in each individual department of the business, to gain a full understanding of how everyone contributes and works together to achieve to the end goal.
‘This would enable me to gain knowledge of the overall operation of the company, and with further training I would like to go into a higher management position.’
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