IRTE schemes win recognition from Carmen guild09 May 2017

SOE president Shaun Stevenson is flanked by HRH the Princess Royal and Carmen master Marsha Rae Ratcliff

Two IRTE initiatives received recognition as progressive initiatives in road transport at two awards ceremonies organised by the Worshipful Company of Carmen City of London livery company.

The IRTE Skills Challenge competition and its irtec licensing scheme for road technicians both won awards at prestigious Carmen ceremonies at Mansion House and Merchant Taylors’ Hall in London.

The Carmen’s Herbert Crow Award was given to the SOE for The IRTE Skills Challenge, a competition for engineers working in the bus and coach sector which promotes the technical ability and hard work of individuals and teams from all over the UK and abroad.

Long-standing IRTE member and SOE President Shaun Stephenson collected the awards, the second of which was The Carmen’s RLC Safety Award for the irtec licensing scheme, an accreditation standard for technicians operating in the commercial vehicle, trailer and passenger carrying industries.

On accepting the award for irtec, Shaun said: “We take enormous pride in being acknowledged in this way by such a distinguished organisation as The Worshipful Company of Carmen. The irtec scheme is designed to raise the standards and safety in the industry, with many smaller and medium sized operators now understanding how important it is to have fully qualified and capable technicians. We are delighted to see this important initiative being implemented in greater numbers, as more organisations are seeing the true value in having technicians who have proved their competence and knowledge in their working environment.”

The IRTE Skills Challenge takes place at S&B Automotive in Bristol from 5-10 June, with 23 teams already confirmed.

SOE Chief Executive Ian Chisholm believes The IRTE Skills Challenge will only become more popular as awareness grows of the abilities required of the modern technician. He said: “The Skills Challenge attracts greater interest each year, with more teams entering and more support from industry. The competition allows these individuals to show their problem-solving skills and intuition needed in contemporary working conditions. It is a great honour to win this award in such esteemed company.”

The Company is being led this year by its first non-Royal female Master, Marsha Rae Ratcliff. A member of the Worshipful Company of Carmen for almost forty years, Marsha was accompanied to the ceremonies by husband and former SOE patron, John Ratcliff CBE.

Author
William Dalrymple

Related Websites
http://www.irteskills.org.uk

Related Companies
Society of Operations Engineers

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