Ransomes Jacobsen operations director Simon Rainger with a Ransomes HR300 out front rotary unit, one of the many mowers manufactured at Ipswich

IPSWICH-based professional mower maker Ransomes Jacobsen is set to reintroduce its craft and technical apprenticeships in January.

The company, which has been manufacturing mowers in Ipswich for the past 180 years, is looking to recruit five apprentices – three craft and two technical.

Craft students will rotate through the welding, fabrication and machining departments with their final placement dependent on areas of highest competency or need at the time they complete the programme.

Technical students will be rotated through the company’s engineering functions including production engineering, quality engineering and continuous improvement.

The successful applicants will be expected to demonstrate a practical capability supported by a high level academic baseline.

All students will be expected to complete a minimum of three to five years’ training achieving an HNC or equivalent qualification in a mechanical or electrical engineering qualification on completion.

Simon Rainger, operations director at Ransomes Jacobsen, said: “We are delighted to re-introduce apprenticeships back into the business. For several reasons they were phased out in the late-1990s, but we hope that their reintroduction will be as successful as they were in the past. Our customer care director Jason King began his career as an apprentice and several senior managers have come through the previous apprenticeship schemes.”