Rob Morrell, the director of training at Worldpac, joined Chris Salvo of Electrified Garage to discuss the course offerings and strategies to cater to a diverse audience.
When asked about course offerings at Worldpac STX 2024, Morrell said he aimed to create a balanced program featuring both introductory and advanced technical courses, as well as management-focused classes to appeal to shop owners, technicians, and other attendees. He indicated that he formatted the course catalog to reflect that of a college catalog with the class numbering to reflect course levels (e.g., 101, 201, etc.)
The two explored the latest trends in automotive technology as guided by questions from attending media, with some of the conversation focusing on the rise of electric vehicles, advanced driver assistance systems, and self-diagnosing vehicles. Salvo and Morrell discussed how these technological advancements could shape future training needs for automotive technicians. Reflecting on feedback from previous events on these training opportunities, they noted a strong preference for hands-on courses and a significant interest in both technical and management classes. This year’s event offered technicians 52 hands-on classes and 203 classes focused on emerging technologies.
Morrell emphasized the importance of accommodating the evolving needs of the industry and the importance of providing high-level training to auto repair shop teams given that it means a few days of closed doors for some to attend.
"We've got over 100 shop owners (who) are bringing the whole shop, so apprentices, service writers, young techs, older techs, owners, and managers. They close down the shop to attend," he said.
One of the hot topics was the potential expansion of EV training courses. Morrell noted that they currently offer a class focused on the Tesla platform and acknowledged the need to stay current with industry trends like electrification. He said, "Our instructors are open to teaching in new areas as the technology advances."
A few media participants proposed researching courses that would provide technicians with hands-on experience in calibrating EV components and using diagnostic tools specific to electric drivetrains.
Morrell and Salvo also discussed the logistical challenges of growing attendance numbers post-pandemic and the need to balance providing more virtual learning with maintaining in-person offerings. Morrell, who is an advocate of in-person training, said variety of training and peer networking was the driving force behind the need for continual and robust in-person session offerings.
In choosing instructors—the event hosted nearly 180 instructors from Worldpac Training Institute, Carquest Technical Institute, global supplier partners and OEs, with instructors from the United States, Canada, England, Germany and Denmark, according to Worldpac —subject matter experts were chosen from across the industry to teach a range of classes from introductory to advanced levels to would allow attendees to progressively build their skills. Each course was reviewed by Morell and his team for relevance, demand, material strength, and instructor qualifications.
Morrell and Salvo left behind an optimistic undertone both indicating they were satisfied with the selection process of the courses and instructors, and their ability to provide valuable, relevant training to help technicians gain new and valuable skills to thrive in today’s auto repair landscape.
