Maxson Goh reports from the 13th IRTE Bus & Coach Skills Challenge in Bristol, an event to spotlight emerging engineering talent in the PSV industry
In June 2025, the S&B Automotive Academy in Bristol played host to the Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE) Bus & Coach Skills Challenge 2025, which ran from 2 to 6 June, gathering the UK’s best PSV apprentices and qualified technicians. Competing either individually or in teams representing their employers, entrants undergo rigorous practical and theoretical assessments meant to evaluate their skills across electrical, mechanical and bodywork components, all while maintaining the required health and safety standards.
4 June served as one of the core challenge competition days where participants tackled tasks across all disciplines and was the day that CBW was invited to attend by the Society of Operations Engineers (SOE). The SOE, which licenses and operates IRTE as a specialist sector for road transport engineers, plays a central organisational role in the DVSA-backed Skills Challenge. Through the IRTE, the SOE says it delivers the event as part of its mission to celebrate excellence in road transport engineering and push the boundaries of skill development.
Prior to the start of the day’s challenges, SOE Senior PR & Communications Officer Christopher Knight introduced me to several of the event sponsors, which included Alexander Dennis, C9 Recruitment, GTG Engineering, GYS, Imperial Engineering and VARTA. When asked what influenced the decision to sponsor the event, C9 Recruitment Commercial Director Daniel Lunn responded: “I’ve been involved with the IRTE Skills Challenge for all 13 years and recognise the value it brings to the industry. Without an event like this highlighting the efforts and the capabilities of engineers, how else are we going to let the industry know what opportunities are available in the engineering space? There’s no other event that I can think of that solely focuses on engineers. There are a
lot of awards events in the market that focus on engineering managers, engineering directors and whatnot, but who focuses on the day-to-day guys and especially the apprentices?”
SOE Executive Director Emma Thompson added: “This is our 13th year of running the IRTE Skills Challenge at the S&B Automotive Academy. This year’s event has been one of the most inspiring yet, the calibre of talent, the professionalism of the competitors, and the spirit of collaboration across the industry truly showcased the value of technical excellence. We’ve got twice as many participants, over 60 people taking part in this event and we truly believe that the message is getting out there to employers about training individuals. I think it’s a phenomenal event, it gives technicians, apprentices and mechanics that platform to learn new skills, helping to bridge the skills gap. It’s a privilege to be part of an event that not only celebrates skills but actively drives progress across our sector.”
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