When Gumersindo Compean of Southern Tire Mart finished his Commercial Tire Service (CTS) Training and Certification Program, he became the 50,000 technician trained by a Tire Industry Association (TIA) training program.
Compean was trained by TIA Certified CTS instructor Walter Parker of Mohawk Rubber Sales of New England Inc.
TIA training and certification began in 1997, when one of its forerunner associations, the International Tire & Rubber Association, held the first Certified CTS Instructor class. TIA has since expanded its training library to include educational programs that cover Automotive Tire Service (ATS), Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems and Earthmover Tire Service (ETS).
“It’s fitting that one of our Certified Instructors trained the 50,000th technician,” says Kevin Rohlwing, TIA's senior vice president of training. "TIA’s ‘train-the-trainer’ approach to certification is designed to create a network of qualified instructors, so our tire dealer members have the flexibility to train and certify technicians at the local and regional levels.
"By preserving the teacher-student relationship, we give technicians like Gumersindo the opportunity to ask questions and interact with a knowledgeable instructor. TIA also has basic training programs that consist of videos and workbooks, so every tire dealer has access to quality technician training materials.
"Our goal from the beginning has been to improve safety in the shop and on the highway, so this milestone is shared by the thousands of instructors who have helped us change the way tires and wheels are serviced,” says Rohlwing.
“Knowing that our people are out on the roads serving the trucking industry with the most up-to-date training is a source of great pride," says Tommy Duff, owner of Columbia, Miss.-based Southern Tire Mart. "It is also a comfort to know that they are as safe as possible having completed TIA’s training and certification program."
The majority of TIA trained and certified technicians are in North America, but TIA training materials have been used for training classes all over the world, including Jamaica, Mexico, the West Indies, Australia, Barbados, Korea, Qatar, Kuwait and Taiwan.
In the continuing effort to provide the most comprehensive tire service training available in the industry, TIA regularly updates existing programs and is exploring the development of new training resources for other markets, such as farm/agricultural and industrial tire service. For more information on TIA training and certification programs, contact Chris Bell, director of training, by telephone at 800-876-8372, ext 106, or by e-mail at [email protected].
