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Gatewen GTA gets going
Page 31
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• As at midday last Friday the number of goods vehicle drivers involved in instruction with 43 Group Training Associations in Great Britain reached 20,039. This was revealed by Mr. Kenneth C. Turner, chairman of the Road Transport Industry Training Board, at the official opening of the Wrexham and Flintshire GTA at Gatewen, New Broughton, near Wrexham.
For the Board it had been a busy week, for it included the previous Wednesday's busdriving opening by Princess Anne at High Ercall Motec. And there is more to come, for the Mid-Glamorgan GTA at Kenfig Hill, near Porthcawl, comes into being in October, adding a further 800 prospective trainees from a group of about 22 South Wales haulage companies.
The Gatewen centre has come about through the co-operation of 48 member companies in North Wales and is intended to train an annual potential of some 700 experienced h.g.v. drivers to improve their general driving ability and bring them up to and beyond the MoT standard.
To do this the group—formed earlier this year--is renting from the NCB extensive premises previously used as an open-cast colliery distribution yard. In addition to ample space for vehicle manoeuvring, the site includes a number of brick buildings well suited to the centre's needs for administration offices, class rooms and storage accommodation.
The group training officer, formerly with the RTITB, Mr. L. J. Baker, took up his duties in early August with two instructors; a third is shortly to be appointed. The first intake of four trainees arrived on August 25 and the third is currently "in residence". Courses are arranged so that, while two drivers are in the class rooms, two are on the road.
Road training is carried out with an AEC Mandator/Scammell 34ft semi-trailer provided by the Board and it was officially to hand over the keys of this vehicle that Mr. Turner, who was accompanied by the director-general Mr. T. E. Tindall, visited Gatewen. Acceptance was made on behalf of the Group, of which he is chairman, by Mr. Derek Jones, managing director Thomas Bros. (Removals) Ltd., Wrexham. Over 100 members of the Group attended, as well as representatives of the Vincent Greenhous Group, suppliers of the vehicle, the AEC organization, the MoT, MAA, RHA and TGWU.
Starting at Wrexham this week is a five-day course for garage foremen /supervisors, organiZed jointly by the RTITB. MAA and RHA. A similar course is to begin in October in Cardiff, so linking both North and South Wales.