NIGEL'S PAGE

NIGEL GILL. DEPOT MANAGER

ITIA Accreditation Programme

Having just completed and passed the ATA training programme which has been a new directive this year put in place by the ITIA for the Tyre Industry, it trills me that as a service industry steps are been taken to bring a professional workforce to an elite professionalism. Not only experienced, but also certified as professionals within the field. Having worked in the industry for over 15 years I am not only a professional by experience but now on paper also. Regulation is important, but also the opportunity for improvement and up skilling are paramount in providing a state of the art service.

To have participated in the Fast Fit technician level 1 course it is apparent that this is the way forward for the Tyre Industry. I found the course to be revitalizing, energizing and inspirational. It enabled me to return with fresh vision and focus to implement improvement both in practical work practise and in man management on the work floor.

In an over regulated society it is surprising that there has been no official training programmes in place. The ITIA are taking measures to address this and although there are plenty of training programmes provided by the manufacturers in regard to their product, it is refreshing for the industry to be able to embark on a programme that qualifies the individual to be a certified professional in an otherwise dolly mixture of professionalism and fly by night chancers in for a “quick buck”. The result of this is the customer will in time see a distinction between the profession service offered by Tyre companies such as Heffernan Tyres and the man fitting the odd tyre somewhere.


I believe that this is the way forward and can see how it could be advantageous to turn a professional workforce into an elite professional workforce.



Nigel Gill
Manager