TIR Training go back to College

More than 20 members of staff at a Beverley-based training company have achieved a top teaching qualification.

TIR Training and its parent company Deflog VQ Trust have worked with East Riding College to put 26 training officers and tutors through the Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector.

The two-year course is a nationally-recognised qualification for teaching in the lifelong learning sector and will help ensure learners are receiving the highest standard of training.

Now every training officer in the company either holds or is working towards a higher level teaching qualification, with many increasing their status to fully qualified teachers rather than assessors.

The £200,000 investment includes £100,000 for tuition fees and expenses for tutors and staff and more than £100,000 for the equivalent of losing more than 1,100 work days while staff were on the course.

Julia Barcoe, director of people and resources at Deflog VQ Trust, said: “We have up-skilled a large proportion of our workforce and we are committed to staff development.

“A lot of staff who come to us have vocational qualifications because they have worked in the industry. However, delivering training is a completely different skill set to doing the job yourself.

“We want our staff to have the best teaching methods and techniques so we can say the quality of our delivery, as well as the content we deliver is exceptionally high.”

TIR Training is a leading local provider of LGV driver training, apprenticeships and employability skills courses and the leading provider of simulator-based driver training in the UK.

The company is owned by the Deflog VQ Trust, an educational charity which delivers apprenticeships to the Armed Forces, including the Royal Logistic Corps, Royal Engineers, Royal Air Force and the Royal Marines.

The group employs 100 people based in the UK and Germany and has a turnover in excess of £4million.

Julia added: “We are very proud of everyone who has achieved the qualification. It’s been a lot of hard work and commitment but they have graduated in style.”

Training officer John Dickson, who is based in Beverley, was a Sergeant Major Warrant Officer Class 2 in the Army before joining TIR Training two years ago.

He said: “When the course was first mentioned, I was apprehensive. There’s always that worry of failure. It wasn’t easy. But it wasn’t as daunting as I thought it would be. It gives you a different approach and makes you think more about the learner.”

East Riding College teacher training curriculum leaders John Aston and Jane Chadwick provided classroom-based learning at the college’s Gallows Lane campus in Beverley and St Mary’s Walk in Bridlington, as well as at the company’s bases in Aldershot, Hampshire, and Gutersloh, Germany.

Mr Aston said: “The learners from TIR and Deflog were a credit to their organisation and showed real dedication to earning their qualification.

“This means they are now fully qualified teachers, who will be better able to pass on their skills and knowledge to the hundreds of learners they instruct.

“At East Riding College, we firmly believe organisations which invest in the development of their staff will reap the rewards and I would like to commend TIR and Deflog on having the foresight to make such a significant investment in its workforce.”