Honda is revving up youngsters’ enthusiasm for learning and its achievements have been praised by Ofsted.

The company’s apprenticeship programme, which trains around 100 people every year, has been given an outstanding grading from inspectors, who carried out an assessment in January at the Honda Institute.

Although the institute is in Langley, near Slough, much of the training is done at the South Marston plant, and during the four-month shutdown because of the economic squeeze the apprentice programme carried on regardless.

In the report, Ofsted inspectors said: “The overall effectiveness of Honda’s apprenticeship programme is outstanding and the programme provides exceptional value for money.Learners enjoy their training and develop excellent occupational skills, making a highly valued contribution to their workplace.”

The report said in four areas – overall effectiveness, outcomes for learners, quality of provision and leadership and management – the programme scored excellent.

Paul Taylor, technical training operations manager at the Honda Institute, said: “We work hard to support skill and knowledge in our car, motorcycle and power equipment networks.

“A good understanding of both the economics of our industry and people’s desire to learn is fundamental to our operation.

“Having the right skill and knowledge to look after our products is key to maintaining performance and reliability. Our customers expect highly trained and skilled technicians in our network of dealerships and that’s exactly what we deliver through apprenticeships.

“The grading from Ofsted is a testament to the professionalism and passion of our people and underpins everything we do.”

Graduates from the programme make up 20 per cent of Honda UK’s technicians.