Kicking off next week, the IRTE Skills Challenge provides the ideal chance for coach and bus technicians to shine
The IRTE Skills Challenge gives participants the perfect opportunity to display the quality of training and support afforded to them by their coach and bus operator, according to competition sponsor Knorr-Bremse.
Skills Challenge testing, which begins next week at the S&B Automotive Academy in Bristol, brings together operators from the UK and overseas in the biggest competition of its kind in the country.
Tim Ford, Head of Aftermarket Sales and Customer Service at Knorr-Bremse, says: “It’s great that the people who receive great training and support can actually show-off those skills.
“We’re not dealing with dirty, horrible conditions anymore – we’re dealing more and more with software, diagnostics and electronics; young people now are much more accustomed to using computers and handheld devices – those are the appliances that are being used on vehicles.”
It's part of a wider Knorr-Bremse scheme to ensure all future coach and bus technicians have a broad range of skills and can understand the function of each component on the vehicle.
“We want to ensure that the people who are working on buses and bus braking systems are getting – or have got – the level of knowledge that they need to make sure they can repair or replace the parts, and actually know what all the parts do and how they function,” adds Tim.
“As a modern vehicle is made up of several different mechanical and electrical elements working in tandem – and are progressively becoming more complex – the technician must understand how these components interact with each other.
“For somebody working on a bus, they’re confronted with a collection of hundreds of different components. It’s an opportunity for the technicians and apprentices to engage with the suppliers who design and build these vehicles and components.”