From an apprentice himself, Ken Smyth is to today general service manager at leading dealership Ernest Doe Ltd, overseeing the service departments and transport fleet at Doe's 19 branches with 180 technicians and over 160 vehicles.

He has overall responsibility for the company’s service provision for agricultural machinery, construction equipment, professional turfcare machinery, garden machinery and viticulture, small tractors and machinery for fruit growers and vineyards.

Ken talks about his early days as an apprentice, his work overseas and of then joining a manufacturer before returning to the dealer trade. He describes the recruitment into Doe’s Apprenticeship scheme and how ‘it is never too young’ to start 'planting the seeds' amongst school pupils about the exciting opportunities offered by the land-based engineering industry – once they understand what is meant by the term.

He says “No other industry provides you with such a wide range of skill-sets. It will teach you more than you will ever learn doing anything else”

Ernest Doe Ltd

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