Senior Technician
Senior technicians work in a coach garage, undertaking maintenance and repair activities on company’s fleet of coaches; these could range from minibuses to double deckers. They have to ensure that all vehicles are roadworthy and legally compliant.Senior coach technicians normally work in one of three areas; mechanical engineering, electrical engineering or body repair. However they will have a broad knowledge of all technical disciplines and will be able to work confidently in all areas.
Senior technicians carry out activities such as checks and fault finding, to ensure that the coach is in good working order. They can be responsible for diagnosing more complex faults and will use software and specially designed technology to undertake their work.
They use a range of tools and equipment, both high tech and hand tools, and keep a record of all the work that they do. Any work that they then carry out has to meet strict industry specifications. They also produce technical reports and working diagrams and review vehicle part specifications.
Newly recruited senior technicians can earn between £18000 and £22000 – this can rise with experience and responsibilities taken.
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Working environment
Senior technicians work in a workshop, which can be noisy and busy. They have to wear overalls to protect their clothes as it is dirty work, and must also have high visibility clothing to ensure they keep themselves safe. They must also wear reinforced boots and protective caps and goggles.Senior technicians normally work on a rotating shift pattern, which includes weekends and bank holidays, early mornings and late nights. They work between 37 and 40 hours a week with the potential for overtime as well.
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Skills and interests
Senior technicians must have an interest and good understanding of the principles and practical aspects of engineering.Alongside this they also need:
- to be able to work well as part of a team, but also independently when required
- leadership and mentoring skills, as they will work with technicians who may be apprentices or new recruits
- good manual dexterity
- sound problem solving skills
- a planned approach to work
- the ability to work quickly but accurately
- an eye for detail
- awareness of health and safety and of industry regulations.
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Entry into the role
Senior technicians are normally expected to have worked in an engineering role before moving into this position. They need to have a sound basic education, with literacy and numeracy skills. They may also be expected to have engineering qualifications such as a level 2 NVQ or SVQ in transport engineering and maintenance. Applicants for the role of senior technician do not necessarily need to have worked on buses before, however this can be advantageous.Technicians are employed by coach companies and occasionally by specialist engineering firms. Job vacancies will be advertised on coach company websites, in the local press and on specialist recruitment websites.
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Opportunities
Senior technicians will learn a wide variety of skills and can specialise in different areas of engineering. They can progress their career to become a senior technician and then to move into engineering management.There are qualifications related to careers in engineering. These include:
- EDI level 3 certificate in transport engineering and maintenance
- IMIAL level 3 certificate in transport engineering maintenance for passenger carrying vehicles
- IMIAL level 3 NVQ in transport engineering and maintenance
- EDI level 3 NVQ and SVQ in transport engineering and maintenance.
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Useful links
- Confederation of Passenger Transport
- Route One (magazine)
- Bus & Coach Professional (magazine)
- Coach and Bus Monthly (magazine)