Just wondering what forum members do for a living - may come in useful if, for example, you need to get plumbing advice from a plumber and not a delivery driver or legal advice from a solicitor and not a car mechanic etc.
As my title suggests, I am an MOT tester among other things. I still carry out MOT's occasionally but for the last 15 years or so have been heavily involved in vocational training, namely training school students on day release to get a qualification in motor vehicle maintenance albeit at an introductory or entry level. I run my own training company and operate out of my own small vehicle workshop so most of the training is done on real cars belonging to real customers. Most jobs are the sort of jobs that would be done in your typical 'fast fit' type of setup - tyres, brakes, exhausts, steering, servicing etc. The students come to me directly through the education department of the local Borough (Newham, in East London) and attend as part of their curriculum for one day per week for two years. We also work with disadvantaged kids and those with learning difficulties. I also assist a couple of similar businesses by allowing them awarding body satellite centre status through us - they do a similar thing to us but one of them does it on cycles and the other one does it on motorcycles. We are an approved City & Guilds training centre and have helped many a student onto the first rung of the motor vehicle employment ladder.
I did a full apprenticeship in the late seventies in a Vauxhall/Bedford dealership, had a stint or two in VW/Audi/Ford dealerships in both the UK and South Africa in the early eighties but have basically run my own car repair businesses from around 1984. That seems to be where my formal technical learning stopped as I never had time to send myself on any updating or manufacturers courses and just picked things up as I've gone along!
So, if you need any advice regarding MOT testing, vocational training or vehicles manufactured up to 1990, I'm your go-to guy!
What about you?
As my title suggests, I am an MOT tester among other things. I still carry out MOT's occasionally but for the last 15 years or so have been heavily involved in vocational training, namely training school students on day release to get a qualification in motor vehicle maintenance albeit at an introductory or entry level. I run my own training company and operate out of my own small vehicle workshop so most of the training is done on real cars belonging to real customers. Most jobs are the sort of jobs that would be done in your typical 'fast fit' type of setup - tyres, brakes, exhausts, steering, servicing etc. The students come to me directly through the education department of the local Borough (Newham, in East London) and attend as part of their curriculum for one day per week for two years. We also work with disadvantaged kids and those with learning difficulties. I also assist a couple of similar businesses by allowing them awarding body satellite centre status through us - they do a similar thing to us but one of them does it on cycles and the other one does it on motorcycles. We are an approved City & Guilds training centre and have helped many a student onto the first rung of the motor vehicle employment ladder.
I did a full apprenticeship in the late seventies in a Vauxhall/Bedford dealership, had a stint or two in VW/Audi/Ford dealerships in both the UK and South Africa in the early eighties but have basically run my own car repair businesses from around 1984. That seems to be where my formal technical learning stopped as I never had time to send myself on any updating or manufacturers courses and just picked things up as I've gone along!
So, if you need any advice regarding MOT testing, vocational training or vehicles manufactured up to 1990, I'm your go-to guy!
What about you?