Mobile technician training bus is big hit for First Group 07 June 2013

A bus used by First as a mobile training facility for its vehicle technicians has now finished its third tour of duty, with the vehicle having spent more than two years moving around the country.

Launched in December 2010, the training bus – a refurbished London double-decker bus – has now travelled from Aberdeen to Cornwall and back three times. In that time it has covered thousands of miles offering vehicle examiners more than 5,000 days' worth of training.

The bus was created to help First meet a commitment to upskill all of its vehicle examiners so that they all reached irtec standards. It has two classrooms, with the capacity to teach 16 people.

The training bus provides access to laptops, Wi-Fi, two interactive digital white boards, a range of eLearning materials and diagnostic training devices.

Engineers can also get their hands dirty with a number of fully functional electrical and air braking training boards on the bus, too.

"As one of the biggest operators in the UK, we are always striving to lead the way and be the best in the business," explains David Liston, business efficiency and engineering director at First.

"The training bus is just one of the ways that we have been working towards that goal over the last few years, in the area of vehicle maintenance and staff training," he adds.

"Thanks to what we've done here, we hope that our drivers, staff and customers can rest assured that when they board one of our buses it is being looked after by some of best-trained and most highly-skilled commercial vehicle examiners around."

Author
John Challen

Related Companies
First Group

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