Talented technicians are celebrated by Sytner Group at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Sytner Group the UK’s largest new and used car retailer that represents the world’s most prestigious and prominent automotive brands, recently congratulated a large number of its most talented technicians at Goodwood Festival of Speed via its well-known Elite Technician programme.

The programme, which was founded in 2017 with the goal of recognising and rewarding professionals on the technician side of the automotive industry, goes further than any other in the sector to do so. It also aligns with Sytner Group’s ‘one team’ ethos, which sees the company continuously looking at how it can do more to nurture, develop and champion its internal talent and offer exciting career prospects.

Over the years, the programme has attracted just short of two thousand entries from technicians across the group – each keen to put their skillset to the test, be in with a chance of becoming a finalist and win the once-in-a-lifetime experience-based prize.

These technicians were, in fact, finalists from 2020’s challenge which saw over 600 entries from across the group’s different brands – including CarShop and Agnew Group – whittled down to just 39 finalists. Unfortunately, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that they were unable to complete the practical element of their challenge, which would have involved them being presented with a real car from each of their respective brands and having to diagnose a number of faults against the clock before a select number were named winners.

The overall winners were then due to join the Penske Team at NASCAR All-Stars Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway but again, this couldn’t go ahead due to restrictions on overseas travel. However, Sytner Group had something equally special up their sleeves to ensure that these talented finalists’ efforts didn’t go unrewarded.

All 39 technicians were instead invited to Goodwood Festival of Speed at the weekend, a staple event on the UK’s motorsport calendar – which gathers together the world’s rarest and most glamorous cars, as well as its most famous stars. They spent the day being celebrated in their own private pavilion on the hill, hosted by Mel Rogers, Director of Human Resources at Sytner Group, and Francesca Summers, Human Resources Project Manager who runs the Elite Technician programme every year.

Mel made a moving speech about just how special and valued the finalists were. He also presented the Glenn Wrigley Memorial Trophy to the theory test's highest scoring technician Simon Castanha. This was followed by all of the technicians enjoying a very special lunch – joined by Roger Penske, founder, chairman and CEO of Penske Automotive Group, Bud Denker, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Penske Automotive Group and Darren Edwards, CEO of Sytner Group.

When discussing the importance of this event, Mel Rogers said: “Our technicians are such a crucial part of our progress as a company – their drive, talent and passion for the profession is the backbone to our Aftersales departments.

“This competition is industry-leading, and it is important we continue to provide opportunities like this to show how much we value our colleagues. This competition also really sets us apart from other dealer groups within the industry.”

Commenting on the celebrations, Francesca Summers added: “Whilst it was disappointing not to be able to hold the Final of the competition, celebrating at Goodwood Festival of Speed made for a fantastic day and allowed us to recognise more technicians than ever before. We very much look forward to the future of the competition in 2022 and rewarding more of the outstanding technical talent within our business.”