It has just been announced that South West College will be the venue for the Autoskills Northern Ireland regional finals on the 7th May 2014. Paul O’Loughlin, lecturer South West College said; “The College is delighted to be hosting such a prestigious event. South West College has had unprecedented success with automotive technicians in recent years and this event will further strengthen the desire in our students to excel and achieve at high levels within their chosen industry. Currently two students from the College, Declan McGrath and Richard Cahoon, are through to the Team UK Autoskills competition.”
This event will see the top motor vehicle and heavy vehicle technicians from across the province competing to claim the accolade of Northern Ireland Technician of the year 2014 for both categories. The six regional colleges along with two independent training organisations will nominate their top students through inter-campus College competitions in the next few weeks. These top students will then go on to compete at the Northern Ireland finals, undertaking a series of technically pressurised challenges.
Martin Hutchinson, Nations Manager for Northern Ireland Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) said; “This event will show case the level of technical skills that young technicians can achieve in a rapidly advancing industry. Motor vehicle and heavy vehicle training in Northern Ireland is leading the way across the UK in terms of its industry focus and high skill training”.
The event will be held in the South West College Omagh Campus, in its purpose build automotive training unit. Local schools are encouraged to bring students along to the event to watch and learn more about the technical skill involved in the industry.
Deadline for nominations is Friday 11th April.