ATA motors past 9000
Paul West, who works at Inchcape Volkswagen Chelmsford, is the 9,000th technician to achieve the Automotive Technician Accreditation standard, governed by the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).
Paul who has worked at Inchcape Volkswagen Chelmsford since joining as an apprentice four years ago, achieved his accreditation at the Volkswagen Group training facility in Milton Keynes. He is one of 450 Volkswagen technicians who have now gained ATA status.
To mark the 9,000th milestone, Paul was presented with a bottle of champagne and a cheque for £200 by Michelle Barrett, one of the IMI’s National Managers for England.
Commented Paul: “I’ve worked hard to achieve Service Maintenance Technician status with Volkswagen. As part of our intensive training programme we already receive certification from Volkswagen, but it’s great to receive an industry recognised accreditation which the public can understand as a sign of independent quality and which I can use throughout the rest of my career.”
Sarah Sillars, Chief Executive of the IMI said: “ATA has been embraced by the whole industry which in itself is a tremendous achievement for our sector and one which has been welcomed by consumer groups. Our congratulations go to Paul on becoming the 9,000 technician to achieve accredited status. We will be showing consumers that the industry is very focused on raising levels of expertise and professionalism and helping reward those businesses who have invested in the development and recognition of their technicians.”
A campaign to raise awareness of the ATA scheme to the public will be unveiled on 23 July at the British International Motor Show at ExCel in London. The IMI is hosting a special industry event to launch the campaign, there’ll be a dedicated ATA stand at the show and a major programme of media activity is planned over the next six months initially.
The campaign will actively encourage businesses employing ATA technicians to take part and give them the tools to maximise their involvement in the scheme through the display of promotional materials and use of the campaign logo for on-line and advertising purposes.
To help boost consumer recognition of the scheme, which recognises proven technical competence and a commitment to a code of conduct, rigorously enforced by the IMI, the Institute has recruited the help of two specialist communications agencies, Campaign Works and Seal Communications.