
SOE's specialist sector for road transport engineers
Our Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE) professional sector supports HGV and PSV professionals throughout their careers, and encourages high standards in maintenance of sectors crucial to employment and public safety.
Members who pick IRTE as their professional sector will benefit from monthly copies of Transport Engineer, the leading source of technical excellence for vehicle engineers. The IRTE Professional Sector Council (PSC), who are all elected by members, work tirelessly to represent the voice of members, improve engineering standards and ensure that we issue relevant guidance on new legislation and best practice.
The IRTE PSC is currently working on the following initiatives:
- Trialling, with DAF, fast track irtec licensing to help bridge the skills gap
- Pioneering the IRTE Skills Challenge to highlight the great work in the PSV industry
- New technical guidance for waste management vehicles
IRTE is also the pioneering force behind the irtec and IRTE Workshop Accreditation schemes. These schemes are recognised as the minimum industry standards for both technicians and the workplace in which they operate.
What makes a modern road transport engineer?
Road transport engineers are skilled problem solvers, methodical in their approach to safety and inspection of vehicles, and have wide ranging technical and regulatory knowledge which sets them apart as true experts. Our members in IRTE range from first job apprentices right up to depot managers, chief engineers, and general managers of haulage firms or bus franchises. A road transport engineering career has no limits - but all IRTE affiliated SOE members have common goals of best practice and safety, whether they are working with technology or individuals.
You can find transport engineers maintaining and managing:
- Buses and coaches
- Heavy goods vehicles
- Heavy mobile plant & materials handling equipment (MHE)
- Large specialist vehicles
- Light commercial vehicles
- Trailers
The HGV & PSV industries have, in recent years, taken great leaps ahead in terms of technology, safety and environmental outputs. Vehicles and vehicle workshops are clean, modern workspaces where you are as likely to fault find and repair with a state of the art electronic diagnostic system, as the more traditional (but just as important) manual tools. It is this versatility which makes road transport engineers true experts.
Electric Buses and HGVs: The Engineering Challenges Behind the Transition
Electric buses and HGVs face big engineering challenges in batteries, charging, and maintenance. Discover how SOE supports engineers leading this transition.
The Thames Barrier: Engineering Resilience on the River Thames
The Thames Barrier is one of the UK’s greatest engineering achievements, as climate change intensifies, its design shows the value of resilience.
IRTE Launches First-Ever HGV Skills Challenge - Why the Industry Needs It Now
Backed by DAF Trucks and powered by 13 years of experience running the highly successful IRTE Bus & Coach Skills Challenge, this new initiative is set to become a defining moment for the HGV sector.
Latest IRTE events
Tri-Axle Buses
Join IRTE Scottish Ayrshire for an insightful session on the development and introduction of this new variant into the transport system, exploring its design, implementation, and impact on future mobility.Lift refurbishment, and what effects this might have on the thorough examination
Join us for our next BES hybrid event from Micky Grover-White on lift refurbishment.An Introduction to the Maintenance Provision Rating Scheme (MPRS)
Join SOE Technical Product Manager Leo Hubbard for an in-depth presentation on the Maintenance Provision Rating Scheme (MPRS) and its application across the industry.
irtec Licensing Scheme
Recognising the need for those working in the industry to prove their competence, IRTE pioneered the irtec Licensing Scheme for technicians and mechanics. An irtec licence certifies the skills and safety of technicians and mechanics working in road transport. IRTE also audits passenger carrying and commercial vehicle workshops under IRTE Workshop Accreditation, providing maintenance providers with the tools to prove their high standards of work while also providing operators with the ability to choose their workshops with confidence.
SOE Accreditations
Transport Engineer Magazine
IRTE publishes monthly magazine Transport Engineer, renowned for its incisive features, news analysis and comment as well as a wide range of best practice guides. Visit the official Transport Engineer website for industry news, a supplier directory, the latest jobs, videos, white papers, product news, legislation updates, recall data and more.