The IRTE Skills Challenge gives out 28 awards to top-ranking coach and bus technicians
The winners of the IRTE Skills Challenge have been announced, in a glamorous ceremony at the Williams F1 conference centre in Oxfordshire on Thursday (13 July).
The ceremony was the conclusion of the seventh IRTE Skills Challenge competition, which saw 25 teams from bus operators put through carefully-devised tests in June.
Bournemouth Transport won the IRTE Outstanding Team Award, while Wayne Ellis from Arriva UK Bus took home the Philip Margrave Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement.
A total of 28 awards were given out, including runner-up awards. Top Scoring DVSA Inspection Technician was awarded to Karl McTague of Translink, with Eugene Arbuzov of First Bus UK taking the prize for the DVSA Inspection Apprentice. All winners were given a set of Teng Tools.
Tower Transit of Singapore, the first team from outside the British Isles, picked up the runner-up in the Mechanical and Bodywork award.
Designed to test the engineering skills of the coach and bus sector, the IRTE Skills Challenge has grown from an eight-team contest in 2011 to an impressive multi-operator competition today, with more expansion expected next year.
SOE Chief Executive Ian Chisholm says: “This competition is a wonderful example of how capable modern engineers are, regardless of the sector.
“Our intention is to show the environment in which modern engineers operate, and we look forward to doing the same next year, but on a bigger scale again.
“If we are to attract more engineers into this sector, we need to continue to show the varied and diverse roles available to those keen to pursue a vocational career path.”
The competition is sponsored by ADL, Allison Transmission, BAE Systems, Bridgestone, Groeneveld, Knorr-Bremse, Shell Lubricants and Teng Tools.
- Full list of winners at goo.gl/1jkUR3
