Investment in talent for the future is critical as technology is moving into a new era, says ADL.
Alexander Dennis (ADL) is a proud sponsor of the IRTE Skills Challenge and its message is clear: Technology is leaping forward, and technicians should be held in high esteem which, in turn, will encourage new talent into the industry. Society must recognise that engineering is a highly respectable industry, providing challenging careers for those with the right skills.
Paul Hopwood, Training Manager at ADL, says: “Engineering roles are often undersold, but the fact is they are highly technical roles which deserve to be elevated.”
Movement away from systems that are primarily mechanical has been swift, Paul says, but the change must be embraced and encouraged.
“System integration is a key challenge for technicians working with the new technologies. CAN-based communications and electronic control systems mean that a higher level of competence is needed in electrical skills testing and fault finding. This will require the use of more demanding test equipment such as canalyzer and oscilloscopes,” he adds.
“Driveline technology is evolving faster now than at any time over the previous 150 years and includes stop-start technology, diesel electric hybrids, full-electric drive, hydrogen fuel cell, biogas and more. Combine this with Electronic Braking Systems (EBS), Electronic Level control (ELC), Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and, well, you get the idea.”
As the modern systems work in tandem to share information and solve problems, so too should industry, says Caroline Szeremeta, ADL Group Marketing Manager.
She says: “There has been a shift towards collaborative working. There is still some way to go to create a sizeable change, but that has to happen. We need to put aside our competitive differences and work together to promote ourselves as an industry.”
For more information on the IRTE Skills Challenge, go to: soe.org.uk/event/skills-challenge.html
