Bicycle Technician Courses

[Save Cyclist]

What do you all things about these prices 

https://www.torqzoneacademy.com/tuition-fees/

 

I have a number of people who really want to pursue Bicycle Mechanics as a profession......but with these prices how will it be possible?

 

Your views ?

[Save Cyclist]

Are there any other institutions in South Africa that offers these certification courses?

[ChrisF]

Subscribed ....

 

 

 

 

This seems reasonable, based on small class technical training for other fields.

[RobertWhitehead]

My opinion, and this is my opinion: 

There's theory and then there's practice or practical. If you as an individual want to pursue a career in any industry the best way to achieve it is to get stuck in and "just do it". Waiting for your certification in any form is not going to work. Watch YouTube videos and throw those spanners. Personally I think a certificate or diploma in any industry only shows to the guy on the other side of the desk that you're "trainable". And you know what the guy on the other side of the desks next question will be directly after he had a look at your shiny certificate? How much experience do you have 

Nike! 

[Theunissa]

2 minutes ago, RobertWhitehead said:

My opinion, and this is my opinion: 

There's theory and then there's practice or practical. If you as an individual want to pursue a career in any industry the best way to achieve it is to get stuck in and "just do it". Waiting for your certification in any form is not going to work. Watch YouTube videos and throw those spanners. Personally I think a certificate or diploma in any industry only shows to the guy on the other side of the desk that you're "trainable". And you know what the guy on the other side of the desks next question will be directly after he had a look at your shiny certificate? How much experience do you have 

Nike! 

I fully agree with this. I employ skill not what the paper says you can do. 

[ChrisF]

1 minute ago, RobertWhitehead said:

My opinion, and this is my opinion: 

There's theory and then there's practice or practical. If you as an individual want to pursue a career in any industry the best way to achieve it is to get stuck in and "just do it". Waiting for your certification in any form is not going to work. Watch YouTube videos and throw those spanners. Personally I think a certificate or diploma in any industry only shows to the guy on the other side of the desk that you're "trainable". And you know what the guy on the other side of the desks next question will be directly after he had a look at your shiny certificate? How much experience do you have 

Nike! 

 

Very true .... and yet, how do the next employer know what you are capable off ?

 

 

Also, big workshops should have insurance, who may well require to see the certification before dealing with a claim.

 

 

 

All that said, the paperwork is no guarantee ....

 

My neighbour is an electrical contractor.  We regularly see this play out as his staff attends training .... worst is those that string up the courses and gains the certificates faster than the practical experience ....

 

 

There are good reasons why the old school apprenticeships took at least 4 years.

[Wyatt Earp]

5 minutes ago, RobertWhitehead said:

My opinion, and this is my opinion: 

There's theory and then there's practice or practical. If you as an individual want to pursue a career in any industry the best way to achieve it is to get stuck in and "just do it". Waiting for your certification in any form is not going to work. Watch YouTube videos and throw those spanners. Personally I think a certificate or diploma in any industry only shows to the guy on the other side of the desk that you're "trainable". And you know what the guy on the other side of the desks next question will be directly after he had a look at your shiny certificate? How much experience do you have 

Nike! 

Agreed

Best way is to get in to a shop and get hands on experience from an experienced bike mechanic.

And as you point out, to be trainable.

Becoming a good bike mechanic takes years, and even the YouTube home experts who rate themselves by working on their own bikes, need to realize, only time and guidance makes for a good bike mechanic/technician.

I’ve personally, and very nicely asked a few guys to leave in the past who had the certificate but zero technical ability.

[Theunissa]

10 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Very true .... and yet, how do the next employer know what you are capable off ?

 

 

Also, big workshops should have insurance, who may well require to see the certification before dealing with a claim.

 

 

 

All that said, the paperwork is no guarantee ....

 

My neighbour is an electrical contractor.  We regularly see this play out as his staff attends training .... worst is those that string up the courses and gains the certificates faster than the practical experience ....

 

 

There are good reasons why the old school apprenticeships took at least 4 years.

I do agree with certification but is should not be your focus. Because Qualifications mean squat if you can't do the job. I had an employee who has n4 electrical but can't even wire a light or plug properly. I know of/ hearof bike mechs that mess up the bike due to lack of skill. You need to get the skill. I'm not sure if bikeshops do apprenticeships. But that's how you learn not via the theory. There is a thing called RPL in SA. It's for the guys like me with skill and no papers to get papers, 100 years amd 2000 years ago they built tempels and churches that still stand and no one had papers then. 

[Theunissa]

Funny enough Facebook showed me a 'n add for this. I think it's a fair price. To become an electrician cost about 50k total in school. And I would assume bike mechs get 15-20k per month salary. 

[madmarc]

1 hour ago, Save Cyclist said:

What do you all things about these prices 

https://www.torqzoneacademy.com/tuition-fees/

 

I have a number of people who really want to pursue Bicycle Mechanics as a profession......but with these prices how will it be possible?

 

Your views ?

Torqzone is the only local academy that can qualify a person on paper as a Bike Technician. They are also part of the academy in UK so its certainly recognized. As to their prices, considering what training costs in other trades i would say they not bad.

But - Spending the money to get the qualification is not going to mean you can walk into a LBS and get the job. Its no different than going to college and getting your Btech in Mech Engineering as a pvt student and then applying for a job as a Mech Engineer, its not gonna happen - At best you will get in as a learner or junior engineer and after 3 - 4 years you could get to Engineer. Key is on the job experience.

So Torqzone academy certification will get your foot in the door as a learner or apprentice. 3 - 4 years later you could call yourself a Certified Bike Technician or Mechanic.

But if you are like most of us on here wanting to learn the trade for yourself and not to get employment at a LBS, keep your money, everything they certify you on can be learnt for free at the university of youtube. Spend the money on tools rather.

Where the bicycle industry fails in this country is there is no formal apprenticeship for Bicycle Mechanics. What is supposed to happen - you get employed as an appy at a LBS its 3 or 4 years to qualify and in that time they send you to Torqzone to get certified at the different skill levels. Once you qualified you can present a prospective employer your certification and 4 years experience.

[Theunissa]

12 minutes ago, madmarc said:

Torqzone is the only local academy that can qualify a person on paper as a Bike Technician. They are also part of the academy in UK so its certainly recognized. As to their prices, considering what training costs in other trades i would say they not bad.

But - Spending the money to get the qualification is not going to mean you can walk into a LBS and get the job. Its no different than going to college and getting your Btech in Mech Engineering as a pvt student and then applying for a job as a Mech Engineer, its not gonna happen - At best you will get in as a learner or junior engineer and after 3 - 4 years you could get to Engineer. Key is on the job experience.

So Torqzone academy certification will get your foot in the door as a learner or apprentice. 3 - 4 years later you could call yourself a Certified Bike Technician or Mechanic.

But if you are like most of us on here wanting to learn the trade for yourself and not to get employment at a LBS, keep your money, everything they certify you on can be learnt for free at the university of youtube. Spend the money on tools rather.

Where the bicycle industry fails in this country is there is no formal apprenticeship for Bicycle Mechanics. What is supposed to happen - you get employed as an appy at a LBS its 3 or 4 years to qualify and in that time they send you to Torqzone to get certified at the different skill levels. Once you qualified you can present a prospective employer your certification and 4 years experience.

This will be great. Because any trade should Have apprentice option for 4 years. 

[Save Cyclist]

3 hours ago, madmarc said:

Torqzone is the only local academy that can qualify a person on paper as a Bike Technician. They are also part of the academy in UK so its certainly recognized. As to their prices, considering what training costs in other trades i would say they not bad.

But - Spending the money to get the qualification is not going to mean you can walk into a LBS and get the job. Its no different than going to college and getting your Btech in Mech Engineering as a pvt student and then applying for a job as a Mech Engineer, its not gonna happen - At best you will get in as a learner or junior engineer and after 3 - 4 years you could get to Engineer. Key is on the job experience.

So Torqzone academy certification will get your foot in the door as a learner or apprentice. 3 - 4 years later you could call yourself a Certified Bike Technician or Mechanic.

But if you are like most of us on here wanting to learn the trade for yourself and not to get employment at a LBS, keep your money, everything they certify you on can be learnt for free at the university of youtube. Spend the money on tools rather.

Where the bicycle industry fails in this country is there is no formal apprenticeship for Bicycle Mechanics. What is supposed to happen - you get employed as an appy at a LBS its 3 or 4 years to qualify and in that time they send you to Torqzone to get certified at the different skill levels. Once you qualified you can present a prospective employer your certification and 4 years experience.

Very insightful 👏 thank you do much its really eye opening. 

To me its a bit ridiculous considering that spending all that money to get a certificate?

The online compulsory one its over R2 000 huh....for someone like who has been in the industry for years it is very unreseanable ....will rather stay without the certificates 

Like you mentioned above that a certificate from Cytech doesn't necessarily guarantee a job especially if you are new in the industry.

I just hope those at TorqueZone will reconsider their pricing otherwise it will really serve only the elites who have surplus money to spend .

[Save Cyclist]

5 hours ago, ChrisF said:

Subscribed ....

 

 

 

 

This seems reasonable, based on small class technical training for other fields.

Just to get a certificate ?

I mean some of us been Technician for the past 10 years .....

[Wyatt Earp]

6 hours ago, Save Cyclist said:

Just to get a certificate ?

I mean some of us been Technician for the past 10 years .....

I have been a bike mechanic for almost 35 years now.

Have quite a number of certificates I got from doing courses internationally, with an actual physical hands on approach. 

Never got a certificate locally, and never will.

It means nothing, it’s a piece of paper that you chuck in a box never to look at again.

I f you have real world experience, you can walk in to any shop where they may test you, and if you are capable they will take you over anyone with a piece of paper, but has no real skill.

[madmarc]

13 hours ago, Save Cyclist said:

Very insightful 👏 thank you do much its really eye opening. 

To me its a bit ridiculous considering that spending all that money to get a certificate?

The online compulsory one its over R2 000 huh....for someone like who has been in the industry for years it is very unreseanable ....will rather stay without the certificates 

Like you mentioned above that a certificate from Cytech doesn't necessarily guarantee a job especially if you are new in the industry.

I just hope those at TorqueZone will reconsider their pricing otherwise it will really serve only the elites who have surplus money to spend .

Reduce their prices you can forget.

A few years back i got into a rather heated discussion with them on their pricing for self sponsored people wanting to get into the trade - I was going to sponsor my garden technician to upskill him to enter the formal employment world - they were not interested.

The other problem why not many LBS dont have a appy program is - They employ a person spend lots of money on these certified courses and then the guy leaves for another LBS because he got offered an extra couple of hundred ronts, so they lose their investment before they can make a return. Back in the day of apprenticeships you signed a contract if you left or broke the contract you had to pay back all the training money spent on you or you had to find a new employer that would buy you out of your contract, so you stayed and finished your appyship  

[daveno7]

18 hours ago, Wyatt Earp said:

Agreed

Best way is to get in to a shop and get hands on experience from an experienced bike mechanic.

And as you point out, to be trainable.

Becoming a good bike mechanic takes years, and even the YouTube home experts who rate themselves by working on their own bikes, need to realize, only time and guidance makes for a good bike mechanic/technician.

I’ve personally, and very nicely asked a few guys to leave in the past who had the certificate but zero technical ability.

ah the technical ability....thats where we home mechanics know our limits...I prefer the trained and the expert...would actually love to a bike mech course...