Continental Tyres has officially opened its brand-new ContiAcademy to help upskill commercial tyre technicians, with training courses to suit individual technician’s needs, improve performance and raise standards across the industry.
The new ContiAcademy in Lutterworth has been set up as a centre of excellence to further support the fast-growing Conti360 Network commercial dealerships across the UK, hosting advanced targeted training in a central UK location, to meeting the exact knowledge needs of each commercial tyre technician attending.
“The ContiAcademy seeks to recognise and strengthen the significant contributions that our dealership network brings to Continental,” said Steve Howat, General Manager – Technical Services at Continental. “The new training centre will help to improve the performance and efficiency of all partners across the network as they strive to meet the ever-changing needs of the industry and reflects our ongoing commitment to raise the profile of the tyre technician profession as we encourage tyre technicians and new drivers to the industry.”
Training to fit individual needs
The ContiAcademy’s ethos is to adapt its assessment to meet the particular skills and knowledge level of each delegate. Conti tutors visit technicians in their place of work to complete workplace assessments using the evidence gathered to offer exemptions on any mandatory modules for which a technician can prove proficiency.
Steve Howat notes, “There is nothing worse than delegates spending significant time out of their business covering topics on which they already have a high standard of knowledge, just to gain the qualification.
“The ContiAcademy approach is to observe trainees in their working environment, and base the training required on the skills noted and recognise a person’s current abilities, to ensure each course adds real value to learners.”
The ContiAcademy provides the highest standard of practical and theoretical commercial vehicle training to improve the knowledge base of technicians and help ensure that they are safely and professionally servicing the vehicles within their individual fleets. Courses include REACT training, technical commercial tyre training, practical training and health & safety.
Steve Howat said: “In many other training courses in the industry, trainees work with simulated rigs, which do not provide realistic or comprehensive training scenarios. The tractor unit at ContiAcademy is a real vehicle, which ensures all trainees receive effective, hands-on training that simulates real-world conditions and is directly applicable to vehicles within their fleet.”
The schedule is also adaptable to reflect the tight time constraints which operators often work under, and which can make training hard to manage. All courses on offer are intensive half-day and one-day courses, while small groups of 6-8 trainees ensure focussed training.
What is more, a flexible assessment approach is followed, where course assessment can be conducted either on site at Lutterworth, or after the training during a technician’s working day, to ensure learning time does not give way to assessment.
Steve Howat added: “Continental understands that excessive time away from day-to-day operations equates to a loss in revenue for service providers and dealers, so we want to really ensure every minute spent with us is spend on learning – not assessment. The ContiAcademy provides maximum flexibility to minimise disruption to their businesses and really add value.”
Guided by professional trainers and technicians at Continental Tyres, commercial tyre technicians can rest assured that they are receiving the very best training available, with all ContiAcademy training courses aligned to industry qualification bodies, including the IMI (Institute of the Motor Industry) and NTDA (National Tyre Distributors Association) accreditation.
For more information on dates and course availability, or to discuss individual training needs, fleet operators can contact the ContiAcademy team on 01788 566 240.
