ITIA president calls for more industry training

The Irish Tyre Industry Association (ITIA) is urging all tyre businesses to ensure that their staff receive proper training in the wake of a number of recent tyre related fatalities.

“This year has seen three fatalities for people working with tyres. Sadly this highlights the need for anyone handling or repairing tyres to be trained and skilled to do so safely,” ITIA President Kevin Farrell said.

He added: “Our accreditation programme is the first stage in making a tyre fitters job a trade, in the same way that for example an electricians is a trade. This urgently needs to be pushed forward. We are calling on all the relevant authorities to follow our licensing initiative and make it mandatory for anyone working with tyres to have accreditation.”

“Tyres have become a technical product to fit and repair. Those working with them must be subjected to an independent adjudication of their skills and suitability to do so, or be legally required to use a fitter who is accredited. This shouldn’t be exclusively tyre shops, it must be incumbent on anyone be they hauliers or farmers to work to industry best practise and make sure their tyres are only handled by trained professionals.”