Farming Monthly National October 2016 | Page 26

| Machinery Kubota UK to hold second annual skills contest Kubota UK will be holding its second annual skills competition in October 2016, a two-day event that seeks to put the technical competence of its staff and technicians working at dealerships across the manufactures extensive network to the test. n a different format to last year’s event, this year will see the competition expanded to include not only Kubota UK staff, but also service engineers who conduct maintenance on Kubota machinery at dealerships throughout the country. I Each contestant will be required to conduct a 100 question written assessment followed by an intense 90-minute practical challenge, with competitors tasked with diagnosing and fixing five faults on the Kubota L5740HST-II tractor. Each will be judged on their ability to remedy all five faults, as well as being able to demonstrate the method behind their decision 26 | Farming Monthly | October 2016 making process. A total of 16 competitors will be taking part over the two-day contest, with contestants equally split between Kubota UK and Kubota dealerships. The Kubota UK winner will go on to compete at the annual global Technical Skills Contest in Japan in 2017, competing against other Kubota sales territories from around the world for the coveted ‘Gold Award’ accolade. The Kubota dealer contestant winner will accompany Kubota UK to Japan to witness its participation in the Technical Skills Contest and enjoy an escorted sightseeing tour of the country. Keith Miller, Service & Training Manager, commented: “The Kubota UK Skills Contest brings together some of Kubota’s best service engineers, internally and through our dealer network. Our UK staff and dealer network is made up of highly skilled, highly professional individuals and we think it’s important to celebrate that and test the expertise of those working with Kubota machinery, day in, day