Following the success of the Tyre Technician Professional Development Scheme (TTPDS), which has seen more than 12,000 tyre technicians trained, assessed as competent and issued with a licence since 2014, the NTDA has launched a new licence specifically for mobile tyre technicians working on car and light vehicle tyres.
The NTDA has now issued more than 9000 REACT licences to commercial tyre technicians assessed as competent to work safely at the roadside across the UK. The need for such a system is clear. Prior to the introduction of REACT in 2011, some technicians were seriously injured and others killed while working at the roadside.
Four years after hitting 5000 licences and following an almost two-year interruption in training forced by Covid-19 restrictions, the NTDA Roadside Emergency Action Concerning Technicians (REACT) scheme passed the 8000-licence milestone on Monday 28 February Commercial Tyre Technician Stephen Fritter of Watling Tyre Service Ltd was issued with his certificate and Licence to Work Safely at the Roadside.
Continental Tyres is growing its in-house ‘ContiAcademy’ training centre following an increase in demand for courses this year. Situated in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, the ContiAcademy will benefit from a larger and newly refurbished classroom and additional breakout room to accommodate larger groups in accordance with COVID-safety measures.
Bridgestone is providing supported training courses aimed at getting commercial customers back on their feet following lockdown. During the third quarter, the company’s comprehensive range of accreditations – which helped secure three National Tyre Distributors Association (NTDA) staff training awards in the past five years – are to be offered at heavily subsidised rates to dealers for the first time. By providing the wide range of qualifications, Bridgestone hopes to re-engage with – and empower – technicians and ensure its network of commercial partners provide a premium service when answering fleet calls.
Continental has become the first tyre manufacturer to offer commercial tyre technicians the chance to gain and renew their REACT licence online via the ContiAcademy.
The new online offering has been set up to ensure technicians working across the UK can remain up to date with REACT (Roadside Emergency Action Concerning Technicians) licencing, despite restrictions on public interaction ongoing in light of Covid-19.
Earlier we examined the evidence that truck tyre technicians should be considered key workers in “Are truck tyre technicians key workers?” In answer to the question, NTDA chief executive Stefan Hay suggested “those technicians who hold a REACT, LCTT or LRTT licence may wish to present the cards as evidence of their profession. Naturally, schools can confirm the validity of the licence by contacting the NTDA’s Head Office.”
Today (Friday 20 March 2020) is the last day at school for most children after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that all schools in England will close in a statement given on Wednesday 18 March 2020. However, schools won’t close entirely. Children of so-called key-workers will continue to go to school – something has led many parents to grapple with the question of what exactly a key worker is.
Prisoners at HM Prison Featherstone are being given truck tyre training in an attempt to address the skills shortage in the truck tyre industry and “instil pride into prisoners’ lives”. Bridgestone has partnered with the prison to offer a hat-trick of commercial tyre training qualifications.
Midland Tyre Services (MTS)’s frontline team recently received a series of in-depth Michelin training courses tailored to its business. MTS, based in Borris-in-Ossory, County Laois, is one of Ireland’s largest and most recognised fleet mobility businesses. Operating 24 mobile service vans, all equipped with the latest tyre management technology – including real-time digital inspection and reporting tools – MTS supports thousands of commercial vehicles operating across Ireland.
Ask anyone involved in tyre industry training and they will say two things. Firstly, there is a growing need to develop a sustainable career path in the technical end of the tyre business. And secondly, that structured training needs to move with the times. The good news is that, after months and years of hard work by key industry figures, there is now an appropriate answer to both questions. So, with this in mind, in mid-November Tyres & Accessories visited the first cohort of trailblazer Licence Commercial Tyre Technician (LCCT) training, which incorporates an accredited apprenticeship standard and the NTDA’s REACT licence.
One key outcome of the establishment of both PROF and the Roadside Rescue and Recovery APPG is that Sir Mike Penning committed to reviewing the safety of so-called “smart motorways”. His speech within the houses of Parliament at the launch of PROF saw the Sir Mike admit the information he had when he was one of the MPs that signed off on smart motorways did not reflect the correct situation.
The recovery industry has joined together to form the Professional Recovery Operators Federation (PROF), which was launched at an event in the Houses of Parliament on 12 February. PROF focusses on representing the interests of professional recovery operators in Westminster.
The NTDA has become a stakeholder in the Slow Down Move Over (SDMO) UK campaign group joining longstanding campaign members such as LV=Britannia Rescue and Call Assist.
The NTDA Roadside Emergency Action Concerning Technicians (REACT) scheme hit a new milestone on Tuesday 18 September when Commercial Tyre Technician Keiran Smith of Lodge Tyre Company in Stafford received the 5000th certificate and Licence to Work Safely at the Roadside at Lodge House, the company’s impressive corporate headquarters in Stafford.
Smith, who is from Worcester and works at Lodge Tyre’s Droitwich depot on Berryhill Industrial Estate, was trained by Roadside Safety Training UK Ltd one of the founding members of the REACT scheme.
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