Summary
Kick-start a rewarding career with Linde Material Handling. Our two-year Sales Development Programme combines practical experience, mentoring, and formal learning to help you become a confident sales professional. Join a global business, make an impact, and build a long-term future with the KION Group.
- Wage
£16,640 to £26,436.80, depending on your age
National Minimum Wage
- Competitive salary and benefits package
- Recognised apprenticeship qualification
- Dedicated mentoring and coaching
- Structured career development programme
- Clear progression opportunities
- Hands-on experience with global brands
- Supportive and collaborative team environment
- Opportunity to build a long-term career with KION, Linde Material Handling, and Baoli
- Training course
- Customer service practitioner (level 2)
- Hours
- Monday to Friday, 40 hours per week. Typical working hours are 8:30am to 5:00pm, with flexibility depending on business needs and location.
40 hours a week
- Start date
Wednesday 14 October 2026
- Duration
2 years 6 months
- Positions available
1
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
- Supporting the sales team with customer enquiries and follow-up activities
- Building and maintaining relationships with customers and internal colleagues
- Contacting prospective customers to identify new business opportunities
- Updating customer information and sales activity on company systems
- Preparing quotations, proposals, and sales documentation
- Researching customer businesses, markets, and industry trends
- Attending customer meetings, site visits, and sales presentations with experienced colleagues
- Assisting with customer demonstrations and solution presentations
- Monitoring sales opportunities and helping progress them through the sales process
- Collaborating with service, operations, and customer support teams to deliver customer solutions
- Participating in mentoring, coaching, and sales training sessions
- Completing apprenticeship learning activities, assignments, and professional development tasks
- Supporting marketing campaigns, events, and customer engagement activities
- Learning about material handling equipment, warehouse solutions, and customer applications
- Developing commercial awareness and understanding customer buying decisions
- Taking ownership of personal development goals and tracking progress with managers and mentors
Where you'll work
Pioneer Way
Castleford
WF10 5QU
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
TRAINING EVENT SAFETY SOLUTIONS LTD
Training course
Customer service practitioner (level 2)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Use a range of questioning skills, including listening and responding in a way that builds rapport, determines customer needs and expectations and achieves positive engagement and delivery.
- Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills, along with summarising language during face-to-face communications; and/or
- Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate communication skills, along with reinforcement techniques (to confirm understanding) during non-facing customer interactions.
- Depending on your job role and work environment: Use an appropriate ‘tone of voice’ in all communications, including written and digital, that reflect the organisation’s brand.
- Provide clear explanations and offer options in order to help customers make choices that are mutually beneficial to both the customer and your organisation.
- Be able to organise yourself, prioritise your own workload/activity and work to meet deadlines.
- Demonstrate patience and calmness.
- Show you understand the customer’s point of view.
- Use appropriate sign-posting or resolution to meet your customers needs and manage expectations.
- Maintain informative communication during service recovery.
Training schedule
You'll combine hands-on workplace experience with structured learning, supported by a dedicated training provider. You'll complete a Level 2 Customer Service Practitioner Apprenticeship, developing key customer service, communication, and problem-solving skills while applying your learning in a real working environment.
Following successful completion, you'll have the opportunity to progress onto a Level 3 apprenticeship, further developing your skills and career prospects.
Requirements
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
- Problem solving skills
- Presentation skills
- Administrative skills
- Number skills
- Analytical skills
- Team working
- Initiative
- Patience
- Enthusiasm
- Willingness to learn
- Professional attitude
Other requirements
A full UK driving licence is required, or applicants must be actively working towards passing their driving test. Successful candidates must be willing to travel to customer sites, training locations, and company offices when required.
Applicants should be committed to completing the apprenticeship programme, including off-the-job training, and have a genuine interest in building a long-term career within sales at Linde Material Handling, part of KION Group.
Candidates should be confident communicating with a wide range of customers, colleagues, and stakeholders and must have the right to work in the UK.