Thatcham
Automotive Academy announced the launch of
Thatcham Training Associates (TTA), a new initiative
that will provide Thatcham training on a global
scale, delivered by local providers. The announcement
was made May 17 at the 2011 International Bodyshop
Industry Symposium.
In the United States, Verifacts Automotive will conduct its first
Thatcham Training Associate VDA course on June 7-8,
at a location to be announced.
The global launch of TTA follows a pilot with the
Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) in Auckland,
one of New Zealand’s education and training
institutes. MIT recently delivered an international
Vehicle Damage Assessor (VDA) course to a group of
insurers and repairers using the TTA model.
Thatcham’s new i-VDA software was an integral part of
the content. I-VDA is a specially developed
interactive tool to support virtual vehicle
assessments and allows assessors to learn the correct
approach to planning and costing for safe and quality
vehicle damage assessment.
A second course for delivery through TTA is under
development. With the working title ‘Modern Vehicle
Body Repair’ this course will provide a greater
understanding of the repair processes for modern,
technologically advanced vehicles – using all of
Thatcham’s research expertise and supported by an
interactive i-Repair learning tool.
For more information on becoming a Thatcham Training
Associate, contact [email protected] and for
an online demonstration of i-VDA, visit www.thatcham.org.
