Toyota and Lexus Apprenticeship Academy Awarded to Transport Training Services

Specialist Nutts Corner based training centre, Transport Training Services (TTS), has been announced as Toyota (GB) partner of choice for apprenticeship training in Northern Ireland.  Under this new arrangement, TTS will be the preferred supplier of vehicle technician apprenticeship training for all Toyota and Lexus Retailers within Northern Ireland.

The talent academy was officially launched at an event hosted by TTS, which brought together representatives from Toyota GB, as well as Heads of Business and Workshop Managers from all Toyota and Lexus Retailers across Northern Ireland.

Toyota marked the launch with the handover of five training cars, including EV and hybrid models, as well as a range of other specialist workshop equipment for use during the TTS training programme.

Speaking at the launch, Greg Culshaw, General Manager Customer & Network Support, Toyota (GB) said: “We believe that talented, passionate, and enthusiastic people are key to our continuing success. Our Retailers in Northern Ireland offer outstanding working environments, structured genuine career progression supported with excellent world-leading training. We are therefore excited that this new Technical Apprenticeship delivered by Transport Training Services will help attract technicians to start their career with us and join Toyota”.

CEO of Transport Training Services, Michael Strain, added: “We welcome Toyota and Lexus as our newest branded apprenticeship academy and look forward to playing our part in developing talent for their networks across Northern Ireland.  Toyota’s significant investment in vehicles and training equipment demonstrates its commitment to this partnership and further supports our aim of being at the forefront of upskilling industry in changing vehicle technology”.

Due to TTS’s ability to tailor course content, the students will be fully qualified Toyota or Lexus Service Technicians upon completion of the three-year training programme.

To find out about apprenticeship opportunities with a Toyota or Lexus retailer in your area, please contact Robert Deignan on 07736958355 or robertd@transporttraining.org.


TTS to Host Additional Apprenticeship Open Day - June 2023

TTS is holding an Open Day on Thursday 22nd June 2023 to further support prospective apprentices and apprentice employers.

Attendees will find out about the range of apprenticeships and career opportunities available within the motor vehicle, transport & logistics sectors across Northern Ireland.

Any school leaver / young person, parent/guardian, teacher/careers advisor is welcome to attend, as well as any company that currently employs apprentices or would like to find out about employing apprentices.

The Open Day will provide an opportunity for those interested in learning about apprenticeships in motor, transport and logistics to visit to its purpose-built training campus to speak to its Careers and Technical Training teams, engage with employers, and register as an applicant.

TTS prides itself on its apprentice-employer matching service, that seeks to match prospective apprentices with employers who are recruiting for apprentices.  TTS expects to have live vacancies available that young people can apply for on the day.

Registration to attend this event is advised.

To find out more about this event or to register to attend please click here.


2023 Apprenticeship Open Day in Pictures 📸

We were delighted to welcome so many young people and their families to TTS on Tuesday 7th February for our 2023 Open Day as part of NI Apprenticeship Week.

Big thanks to all TTS staff and all of the employers who took part for making the event such a success and to Antrim & Newtownabbey Labour Market Partnership for their support.

If you were unable to make it to the event but are interested in an apprenticeship in the motor, transport or logistics industry, or you are an employer in one of these sectors interested in hiring an apprentice, please get in touch with our Careers Development Officer Robert Deignan on 07736958355 or robertd@transporttraining.org


Transport Training Services Adds Evening Courses to Timetable

In response to customer demand, Transport Training Services (TTS) has added a range of training courses to a new evening timetable at its Nutts Corner training centre.

Initially these courses will include IMI accredited training on electric/hybrid vehicles and automotive refrigerant handling (FGas), both of which are for qualified vehicle technicians. It is expected that other courses will be added later in the year, to offer a greater level of flexibility for employers and self-funding career-driven individuals.

The new schedule will commence in early March.  Find dates at the following links:

IMI Level 3 Award Automotive Refrigerant Handling Course

IMI Level 3 & Level 4 Award Electric/Hybrid Vehicle Upskill Training

Driver CPC is also available on Saturdays.

TTS is committed to supporting the transport industry in filling skills gaps that have arisen from new vehicle technology and the drive to transition to zero emission vehicles.

The social enterprise has recently expanded its team of technical trainers in order to develop its training schedule and to bring additional specialist skills to the organisation.

To book, please contact us on mail@transporttraining.org or call 028 9082 5653.


TTS to Host 2023 Apprenticeship Open Day

TTS is holding an Open Day on Tuesday 7th February 2023 as part of its Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Week activities.

Attendees will find out about the range of apprenticeships and career opportunities available within the motor vehicle, transport & logistics sectors across Northern Ireland.

Any school leaver / young person, parent/guardian, teacher/careers advisor is welcome to attend, as well as any company that currently employs apprentices or would like to find out about employing apprentices.

The Open Day will provide an opportunity for those interested in learning about apprenticeships in motor, transport and logistics to visit to our purpose-built training campus to speak to our Careers and Technical Training Teams, participate in activities, engage with employers, and register as an applicant.

Registration to attend this event is advised.

To find out more about this event or to register to attend please click here.


TTS Secures its Position as Market Leader for Automotive & Transport Sector Apprenticeships with 'TTS100'

We are delighted to announce that we have placed more than 100 young people into employed apprenticeships since September 2022!
Lucas Houston recently became the 100th recruit to the 2022/23 ApprenticeshipsNI programme at TTS when he secured employment as a Vehicle Parts & Customer Service Apprentice at TrustFord in Mallusk.
Lucas was presented with a Newmetab P40 Tablet by TTS CEO Michael Strain, alongside TrustFord’s Andrew Kyle (Aftersales Manager), Greg Whan (General Manager) and the rest of the TrustFord Mallusk Team.
TTS is consistently Northern Ireland’s largest provider of apprenticeships in these sectors with 30% market share. The company recently announced that it has successfully placed more than 100 young people into employed apprenticeships since September 2022, achieving it’s ‘TTS100’ goal.  This was the largest number in a single intake in the organisation’s history and took the total apprentice numbers across all year groups close to 250, which is an all-time high.  This is even more impressive against the backdrop of covid-19 when apprentice numbers fell to just 40 in the 2020 intake.
All TTS apprenticeships are delivered from its purpose-built campus at Nutts Corner, and it differs from other apprenticeship providers because its young people train at TTS in one week blocks approximately every eight weeks.  Employers and apprentices alike consistently comment on their preference for this training schedule over the traditional weekly day-release pattern.
For further information on apprenticeship opportunities please contact TTS Careers Development Officer Robert Deignan on 028 9082 5653 or robertd@transporttraining.org.

‘Women in Wheels NI’ Event Demonstrates Demand for Automotive & Transport Careers by Women

Transport Training Services hosted the first ever Women in Wheels NI event on Sunday 6th March to coincide with International Women’s Day.

The event called Women Driving Change, which was kindly sponsored by Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council, offered females of all ages from across Northern Ireland the opportunity to find out about the wide range of career opportunities in the automotive and transport/logistics sectors.

Participants took part in interactive activities, including getting behind the wheel of a truck or bus and getting hands-on with vehicle maintenance demonstrations.  The event also had speakers from a broad cross-section of the motor and transport sectors, from truck and bus drivers, vehicle technicians, fleet and transport managers, female business owners and many more.  A range of employers were also there to talk about live job opportunities on the day, including Woodside Logistics Group, Translink, Bryson Recycling, Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, DHL Supply Chain, Manpower, Mercedes-Benz Truck & Van, and Donnelly Group.

With more than 120 people through the doors at TTS and 72 getting behind the wheel of a truck or bus, the event was a huge success.  As well as practical activities such as vehicle technician demonstrations and vehicle paint technician displays, a range of panel discussions, hosted by Pamela Dennison, ran throughout the day with speakers from a broad cross-section of the sectors being promoted.

In addition to Automotive, Transport & Logistics and HGV Driver panels, a Compliance and Fleet Management panel gave attendees the chance to find out about career possibilities that may be lesser known roles to anyone outside of the industry.

Siofra McClure, Recruitment Co-Ordinator at Woodside Logistics Group had this to say:

“At Woodside Logistics Group, our aim is to continue to build an inclusive culture where all our staff feel welcome and valued.  We recognise there is a need to encourage more women into the transport and logistics industry and we are proud to work with partners like Women in Wheels NI to show the opportunities we have for women interested in a career in logistics and build on the progress we have already made.

We were delighted to be a partner at the inaugural Women Driving Change event at the Transport Training Services on Sunday 6th March.  The event was a huge success and really highlighted not only the opportunities available for women in the industry but the amount of women in Northern Ireland who want to break down the barriers and start a career in logistics.  We are excited to continue our work to drive inclusion and we look forward to working with our colleagues in the industry to provide more opportunities for women.”

Fiona Gallery, HR Officer at Donnelly Group added: “Thank you for such an inspiring day!  It was great to meet so many passionate women who are interested in a career the automotive industry.  Donnelly Group are very proud to support and work in partnership with such a fantastic event.”

One participant, Zoe McVey, said: “Thank you so much for today. It was so interesting.  I really enjoyed the practical aspect too.  I am definitely going to do my HGV training.  Thanks for helping me decide!”

Another, Stephanie Blain, added: “Great day all round.  It has totally inspired me! I have plenty of homework and reading to do…Hopefully I’ll be going forward into the future for something that really interests me.”

And Alex Jay, had this to say: “Absolutely class!...I've been struggling a lot lately and today was such an amazing experience.  I’m still smiling from my drive in the fire engine!  So many lovely people sharing their experiences in various careers has really given me inspiration.  Thank you so much to everyone who spent time chatting with me.”

Other comment included: “a new career beckons” and “change of career direction I think”.

With less than 2% of vehicle technicians and large goods vehicle drivers in NI, and just 14% of all UK logistics workers being female, the organisations involved in this event are committed to attracting more women into a range of historically male-dominated careers.

Michael Strain, CEO of TTS, commented: “I have no doubt that many of the women in attendance will go on to take up careers in automotive or transport, having seen the response on the day and the very positive feedback that we have received since.  We couldn’t have been more pleased to see the fantastic turn out at the first ever Women in Wheels NI event.”

TTS runs a Facebook Group (www.facebook.com/groups/womeninwheelsni) which now has more than 340 members, a combination of automotive and transport industry professionals and women interested in careers in these sectors.

Due to the success of this inaugural Women in Wheels NI event, TTS hopes to run another one later in the year.


TTS To Host Women Driving Change Event

TTS is delighted to be hosting an International Women’s Day event to find out about career opportunities in NI’s vibrant automotive, transport and logistics sectors.  The event called 'Women Driving Change' is part of TTS's Women in Wheels NI initiative.
  • Have a go at truck or bus driving in a safe environment
  • Take part in interactive vehicle workshop activities and demonstrations
  • Speak to and hear from females working in automotive, transport and logistics
  • Speak to employers in automotive, transport and logistics about career opportunities with them
The event is open to females of all ages but those aged 16-24 can find out about motor vehicle, transport and logistics apprenticeships.
We are delighted to have the following partners for this event:
Venue: Transport Training Services, Nutts Corner Business Park, 15 Dundrod Road, Crumlin BT29 4SS
Date: Sunday 6th March 2022
Time: Between 1 and 4 PM
Registration for this event is mandatory and early booking is recommended. Activity participation will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
To find out more or to register to attend, click here.

2022 Apprentice Recruitment Campaign Launched!

We launched our apprentice recruitment campaign at an Open Day on Thursday 10th February to coincide with Northern Ireland Apprenticeship Week.

As well as showcasing our range of existing apprenticeship frameworks, we also launched new logistics apprenticeships, aimed at addressing the skills gaps in the Northern Ireland logistics sector.

During the Open Day, young people and their families were able to engage in interactive activities at our purpose-built Nutts Corner training campus and met with our careers advisors and technical trainers.  Some of our apprentice employers were also in attendance including Diamond Trucks, Donnelly Group, Mercedes-Benz Truck & Van NI, TBF Thompson, Woodside Logistics Group and Wrightbus and attendees were able to apply for live vacancies on the day.

For more information about apprenticeships with TTS, please contact Robert Deignan on 07736958355 or robertd@transporttraining.org


TTS Launches New Customer Service, Management & Team Leading Apprenticeships

Transport Training Services has launched a brand new range of apprenticeships aimed at helping existing automotive, transport and logistics professionals to up-skill in the following areas:

Team Leading Apprenticeship

This level 2 team leading apprenticeship is designed for supervisors or first-line managers and provides practical knowledge and skills to strengthen leadership in an existing role or to advance the learner’s management career.

To participate in this apprenticeship, candidates must be managing people currently and they must hold team and one-to-one meetings.

Management Apprenticeship

This level 3 management apprenticeship is designed for current managers who require upskilling in areas of their job to be fully competent.

To participate in this apprenticeship, candidates should be managing staff and/or managing processes.

Customer Service Apprenticeship

A customer service apprenticeship is a training scheme that teaches the skills required to provide excellent customer service.  These skills can be applied to jobs in almost any sector so the career possibilities are endless.

For more information on these apprenticeships, please click here.