Routes to Working in the Industry

Motorcycle Mechanics Course at College

Colleges across the country offer a wide range of vocational courses which are generally aimed towards younger people. This means that the majority of students will be under 20 and the learning environment will be geared towards that. The courses on offer are good at covering all aspects of motorcycle maintenance, but this often means there is less focus on suspension content. Class sizes are also often on the larger side, and teachers often work to a strict time frame, which will often result in you leaving with unanswered questions.

Our advice: College is a respectable option for younger people, and the access to grants and loans can make college a more attractive option for someone looking to start out in their careers. However, for more mature students, or those with work experience, an industry school with more practical based learning would probably suit them more.

Online tutorials/ YouTube

While we do offer a range of online courses, our preference has always been for face‑to‑face, in‑person training. Online learning is often attractive to students because it is convenient and easy to access—you can learn at your own pace, from the comfort of your own home. However, convenience does not always equate to quality.

The internet is full of information of varying reliability, and it can be difficult to know whether what you’re learning is accurate, complete, or even safe. Just as importantly, it’s not always clear who is behind an online tutorial or whether they truly have the experience and qualifications they claim.

Even when an online course is delivered by a recognised professional, it inevitably lacks one crucial element: direct, hands‑on guidance. There is significant value in face‑to‑face interaction—not only does it allow for more effective teaching, but it also makes it easier to build meaningful relationships with your instructor and fellow students. Questions can be answered immediately and in full, without the limitations of forums or delayed responses. In many cases, an in‑person explanation can be supported by a live demonstration, or even practical participation, ensuring the concept is fully understood.

Our advice: Online courses can be a useful and flexible way to learn, and they certainly have their place. However, if your goal is to gain a deep, accurate, and practical understanding, nothing compares to having an experienced professional in the room with you. Face‑to‑face learning offers clarity, confidence, and a level of teaching quality that simply can’t be replicated online.

What are Lectures, Seminars, Workshops and Tutorials?

The vast majority of suspension courses fall into the lecture category, however, in reality the difference between lectures, seminars and tutorials can be indistinct.

Lectures consist of large groups of students sat in a theatre or auditorium, watching and listening to presentations and analysis made by a member of staff. There is generally no practical work done by the students, unless one is selected to come to the front and take part in a demonstration. Lectures do offer a way of conveying large amounts of information towards lots of people at one time, but this isn’t always what you want as an individual student. The class sizes in lectures often prevents any form of discussion, and often makes the chance of getting your questions answered impossible. In many lectures there is also a lot of theatre involved, and while this is aesthetically pleasing it can often leave you short changed on useful information. And as much of the money is spent on large theatre spaces and comfy seats, this naturally means that less is spent on the practical equipment. It is proven that you are less likely to absorb information when it is simply explained to you, which therefore can make lectures a less effective way of teaching.

Seminars, workshops and tutorials are done in smaller groups, which enables more discussion and more focus based learning. They also consist of more interactive methods of teaching, such as student presentations, making them more effective than a lecture. However, they work in a similar way to lectures in that you are unlikely to take part in any form of practical work and will simply have the information demonstrated to you for most of the lesson.

So in conclusion, whilst these forms of teaching can contain a lot of useful information, it isn’t necessarily conveyed in the right way. Yes, you’re not going to get dirty and oily while you learn, and yes it’s probably the more comfortable option. But if you want a more effective way of learning where you will get your questions answered, then a more practical based course is definitely the way forward.