Bus and coach operators are being invited to step up to the plate and enter their technicians for this year's IRTE Skills Challenge.
The Skills Challenge series, now in its fourth year, celebrates technicians who keep the UK's buses and coaches safe and efficient, with individuals and teams vying for the top prize in mechanical, electrical and bodywork tests.
Sponsored by Allison Transmission, BAE Systems, Bridgestone, Knorr-Bremse and Shell Lubricants, the technical competition has also been embraced by UK operators as a way of promoting their companies' investment in skills and training.
IRTE Skills Challenge 2013 saw technicians and apprentices from operators, including Arriva, Go-Ahead London, Reading Buses, Translink and FirstGroup, battle it out.
Top award last year – the IRTE Award for Outstanding Achievement – went to Arriva team members Glenn Cooke, Colin Harris and Stephen Hall.
"The IRTE Skills Challenge is a fantastic event that recognises everything that's good about the bus industry," comments VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency) chief operating officer Alex Fiddes.
"It's a chance to celebrate the people who strive to achieve the highest professional standard, something that VOSA and I strongly encourage," he adds.
"The IRTE Skills Challenge mirrors IRTE's aims of encouraging best practice, inspiring lifelong learning and promoting the value of technical skills in the road transport industry," states Ian Chisholm, head of operations at SOE, the umbrella organisation for IRTE.
"By offering a benchmark against which individuals and companies can measure themselves, the IRTE Skills Challenge encourages bus and coach technicians, and operators, to strive for the best – and rewards those who achieve it," he says.
Entry to the IRTE Skills Challenge is free, and the competition will take place at S&B Automotive Academy in Bristol from 2—6 June 2014.
To enter, contact Sheena Patel on sheena.patel@soe.org.uk or 020 7630 2174.
Or use the link below.