Program boosts the prestige of training at Bentley Motors : Dealership technicians get the skills they need for successful launch of new model

Purpose – The paper aims to describe the award‐winning training set up by Bentley Motors to ensure that there were skilled people in each dealership to deal with the launch of a new model, the Continental GT. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on information provided by the company's technical training manager. Describes Bentley's train‐the‐trainer initiative, the training‐needs analysis carried out on existing technicians, and the successful training program developed for them. Highlights how four of the £115,000 cars are used to give the technicians practical experience of working on the vehicles. Findings – The paper finds that Bentley Motors believes that the technician‐training program made a major contribution to the successful launch of the new vehicle, helping the company to achieve a profit 12 months ahead of schedule. Originality/value – The paper underlines how the successful introduction of the training program helped to boost the influence and prestige of the training function within Bentley Motors.