The latest intake of Toyota Material Handling Australia (TMHA) apprentices have been inducted at the company's Moorebank headquarters in Sydney.
The 12 apprentices were drawn from around the country and were accompanied by mentors from their respective TMHA branches.
TMHA National Technical Advisor Gerry Larney said the company received the highest number of applicants for the 2015 intake in the 11 years of the apprentice program.
"We received more than 1000 applications from around the country," Mr Larney said.
"This is the biggest by far since we began our apprentice program back in 2005, and this latest intake brings the number of apprentices currently training around the country to 45."
As part of the induction the apprentices were given presentations on Toyota values, company policies and expectations, safety procedures and history.
At the conclusion of the presentations the apprentices met with members of the senior TMHA management team, including President and CEO Aki Nimura and Executive Vice President and COO Steve Takacs, before being presented with their tools of trade.
Mr Larney said TMHA recognises the importance of apprentices to the business.
"It's a real investment in our future," he said.
"We instigated the annual apprentice intake over a decade ago to ensure we have a strong skills base to support us as our business grows."
Mr Takacs, himself a former forklift technician, said TMHA was at the forefront of forklift technician training in Australia, and pioneered specialist TAFE training for Australia's forklift technicians.
"Our customers benefit by having a skilled and knowledgeable team of technicians ready to provide high-quality back-up for the entire range of Toyota material handling equipment," Mr Takacs said.
TMHA supports the training and development of its forklift technicians and apprentices by holding an annual National Skills Contest aimed at keeping them at the cutting-edge of industry standards.
The new TMHA apprentices with TMHA senior management