Technician flies the council flag in finals
A skilled vehicle technician working for Warwickshire County Council is among a handful of finalists who will this week be battling it out to see who is the best in the whole country.
Peter Duncombe, is the only local authority employee left, and will be taking on vehicle technicians from such motoring giants as Porsche and BMW at the NEC this week in the final stage of the Technician of the Year competition.
Peter has demonstrated he is one of the best vehicle technicians in the UK by reaching the final 12 in this high profile, nationwide competition, sponsored by The Institute of the Motor Industry and the Automotive Technician Accreditation scheme.
The final stage of the competition will be held at the NEC in Birmingham, and gets underway tomorrow, coming to a close on Thursday, when the final 12 contestants will do battle for the highly coveted title of Technician of the Year.
Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for the County Fleet Maintenance team, said: “We cannot emphasise enough the huge achievement Peter has made in reaching the finals of this competition.
“He is the only public sector employee in the entire country to make it through to the final stage of the competition. And even though the majority of the finalists work for big name dealerships, who are supported by prestigious manufacturers such as Porsche and BMW, Peter says he is confident that he will give a good account of himself and the county council.”
Peter joined Warwickshire County Councils vehicle maintenance team within County Fleet Maintenance last year having previously worked for a local Jaguar franchise.
He is no stranger to success in such competitions, having previously competed in the finals of the Jaguar Technician of the Year and wining the Jaguar Auto Course Award in 2006.
Peter said: “I would clearly love to win the title, but I am competing against the very best in the country and for now it’s just a great privilege to have made it through to the final.”
And Peter is proud of the attention he is bringing to this area of work within Warwickshire County Council.
He said: “Irrespective of some people’s perception of the public sector I can tell you that the range of technical and diagnostic problems faced by public sector technicians is far greater than any that are encountered by staff who work for franchised dealers. My colleagues at County Fleet Maintenance are at least as well qualified, if not better, as any that I have ever worked with.”
Steve Roe, CFM’s Operations Manager, said: “I’m very proud of Peter’s success so far in this competition. He is one of the very best vehicle technicians in the UK and we will all be rooting for him next week. Of our 21 technicians three are currently accredited to Master Technician level and we are hoping to add two more to this list over the next year. Peter’s success so far in this competition has been an inspiration to all of us.”