ATG TRAINING
Qualified instructors put trainees through their paces
Teaching the technicians As the cycle trade matures, increasing numbers are turning to training and qualifications. Jonathon Harker speaks with one of the best known and largest trainers in the bicycle industry about its growing international reach and what it offers to bicycle-based businesses here in the UK… BUSINESS OWNERS and mechanics in the bicycle industry hardly need any introduction to the globally recognised training and accreditation scheme that is Cytech. There’s little wonder when you look at the stats: Over 8,000 courses have been delivered to more than a whopping 3,500 candidates, many of whom are working for familar names in the industry. In fact there are currently over 2,000 Cytech qualified staff who are employed worldwide, so to safe to that it is pretty popular would be understating the point, to say the very least. The successful training programme is pitched as a must-have with a variety of training courses suited to different roles and, in a perhaps overlooked point, placing value on the high standards of technical skills in the industry. BIKEBIZ.COM
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Registered charity ATG Training has been providing apprenticeship training for more than 45 years and currently provides the largest number of Cytech courses in the UK. ATG has workshops right down ‘the spine of the country’ located in
environment itself. ATG’s training officers themselves are all fully qualified and in the main are also keen riders in their spare time, whether that’s competing on the circuits, on the road, in cyclocross or off-roading.
“We work with a large number of brands to ensure we’re unbiased.” Stephen Smyth, ATG Stafford, London and Aylesbury. All three are fully fitted out with Park Tools equipment, racked and boarded on PAF benches and have a wide range of bikes and components to work on. As the ATG itself notes, getting training right is not just about the
The courses available through ATG Training range from the Cycle Maintenance Apprenticeship, through to Cytech One, Two and Three. ATG also offers further specialism, including the likes of Specialist Wheel Building, Group Set, Brake Technology, MTB and
Road Bike specific course as well as Fox Suspension dealer training, not to mention the option to create a bespoke programme or two for specific customers. BikeBiz speaks with ATG Training’s marketing and social media manager Stephen Smyth on the all-year available training… What would you say to someone mulling over whether they should go on a course with ATG or not? We do not sell a course to callers, but provide them with as much information as we can to allow them to make a choice that suits their needs. How we are different to the rest of the market is that our Cytech Two course is recognised as the authoritative qualification in the trade. It also has an Engineering qualification included in the Cytech Two. Uniquely, people who attain a BIKEBIZ MARCH 35
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