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.