The Honda Institute has received a South East Training Award at the recent NTA regional awards ceremony. The entry from The Honda Institute - Individual Skills Training (IST) for car technicians - was one of 16 finalists from over 1,000 entries, with Honda the only automotive company to reach the finals.

Honda notes that the traditional approach to training for car technicians means courses typically run for three days and dealers are charged per technician, per course attended, making it difficult for them to work around the time that key personnel are taken out of the business. In contrast, Honda's more flexible modular IST system allows technicians to tailor their training to their own needs, and to book the courses when it suits them.

Ken Keir, managing director of Honda (UK) and senior vice president of Honda Motor Europe, started his own career as a vehicle technician.