Show summary Hide summary
Moto Direct has opened applications for a year‑long trainee programme aimed at workshop apprentices, parts specialists and technicians. The free Moto Academy course promises manufacturer-led, technical instruction designed to boost confidence in selecting and fitting the right components for customers’ bikes.
What the Moto Academy teaches
The training focuses on everyday maintenance parts from recognised suppliers. Candidates will receive in‑depth, product-specific sessions covering items such as Michelin tyres, EK Chains and Motul lubricants.
Organisers emphasise the programme is technical rather than commercial. As Lloyd Day, Regional Director of parts and accessories at Moto Direct and the scheme’s founder, put it: “They’re going to get a year’s worth of purely technical training directly from the manufacturers; this is not sales training.”
Manufacturer input and course content
Moto Direct has lined up hands‑on instruction from several suppliers. The company says manufacturers will travel to the UK to deliver specialist modules. Examples cited include Brembo explaining brake pad compounds and T‑drive discs, and EK demonstrating the functional differences between O‑ring and X‑ring chains.
Those manufacturer sessions aim to give technicians the technical language and reasoning to explain part choices to customers, Day told MCN. The goal is clear: when a motorcyclist enters a garage, the technician should be able to justify the selection on technical grounds.
Logistics and who can apply
The programme starts on February 3 next year and will accept 10 participants for its inaugural cohort. Trainees are expected to commit roughly one day per month to training, either at Moto Direct’s headquarters in Derbyshire or at manufacturers’ UK training centres.
Course designers have arranged the schedule to be as accessible as possible. Day said the monthly format reduces disruption to workshop workloads. Where overnight stays are necessary, Moto Direct has indicated it would help contribute to accommodation costs.
Perks and future plans
In addition to tuition, successful applicants will receive a starter toolkit, Motul workshop clothing and exclusive discounts on products supplied by Moto Direct.
Now in its pilot phase, the scheme’s creator hopes it will expand beyond a small cohort. “Wouldn’t it be amazing though if it started out just like a small Acorn like this and then turned into something that had full national industry backing,” Day said, noting the wider industry need for structured technical training.
Industry context
UK garages have faced recruitment and retention challenges in recent years. Free, manufacturer‑led upskilling programmes address a clear skills gap by helping new and existing staff build practical product knowledge.
- Who benefits: apprentices, workshop technicians and parts specialists.
- Format: one day per month, for one year.
- Capacity: 10 places in the first cohort.
MCN’s view
MCN welcomes initiatives that make industry training more accessible, particularly when cost barriers are removed. If Moto Direct can scale the academy after this initial intake, it could help ease pressure on garages struggling to find and develop skilled staff.
