The Apprentice

Earlier this month, Avinash Taur, 21, won the Global Best Apprentice award instituted by the VW Group. Winning the award is a great achievement for me, he says, it “has boosted my confidence and faith in myself to give my best”. If it were not for the pandemic, I would have been in Germany to receive the award,” Taur tells TURN OF SPEED.    Growing up in Beed, a district located 350 kms from Pune, Avinash Taur’s favourite TV shows were the National Geographic Supercars Megabuild shows as well as those on car manufacturing. This fuelled a passion for cars and created a desire in him to be an automotive engineer. At that time, Avinash could not have known that he would one day apply for the Mechatronics course at the Pune-based Skoda Auto Volkswagen Academy, and go on to win a global accolade. Taur worked diligently for three and a half years to complete the course which accepts a select set of students who have completed their SSC exams. As Taur puts it, “The Mechatronics programme offered the dual advantage of enhancing my skills and provided increased exposure for my passion for the auto industry. In addition, automation was my area of interest. I got to learn